Snowe: Health Insurance Affordability Must Be Cornerstone of Reform

Press Release

Calls on CBO to Provide More Details on Health Insurance Premiums

As part of her ongoing effort to ensure Americans have access to affordable health care coverage, U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) today, in a letter, requested that Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Douglas Elmendorf provide additional details regarding the agency's November 30th analysis of health insurance premiums under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Senator Snowe said it is vital for members to have access to critical information, including the average premium cost, the impact on small businesses and state-specific analyses, to be able to determine the full impact the measure will have on consumers.

"The issue of health insurance affordability under reform legislation must be a cornerstone of a health reform bill and remains one of my paramount concerns," Senator Snowe wrote. "Americans rightly continue to be concerned regarding the nature of the coverage which would be offered under health reform, as well as the cost of the plans they could obtain."

Senator Snowe went on to note that although CBO's most recent report provided critical information regarding the average cost of coverage, it lacked specific details in other areas, including the effects the legislation will have on the small group market and what the costs and benefits will be for individuals and businesses in obtaining essential coverage as well as premium impacts prior to 2016. During Finance Committee consideration, Senator Snowe requested that CBO provide an affordability analysis of projected coverage. That data formed a basis for modeling which informed her decision-making in the Finance Committee's consideration of health reform legislation.

"I am requesting several extensions to the most recent report which are critical to gaining a more complete understanding of how this legislation would affect Americans, in order that the Senate may both better evaluate the bill, and make necessary improvements," concluded Senator Snowe.

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