(BUSINESS WIRE)--With the release of the Senate Finance Committee’s new America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009, the Coalition to Protect Patients’ Rights (CPPR) is urging Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) to oppose any plan to implement a public option health insurance plan that limits patient choice and interferes with the patient-physician relationship. In addition, the Coalition is warning Sen. Snowe to be wary of the Committee’s consideration of both co-ops and triggers, because either could ultimately lead to a public option program.
Maine’s senior senator is being pressured on this issue from all sides. MSNBC reports Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is hinting that Sen. Snowe could cast the deciding vote on reform. And, according to Politico, Sen. Snowe may hold the key to President Obama’s health care agenda. In light of this important role the senator will play in the continuing reform debate – and in support of her prior health care reform efforts – coalition spokesman and former president of the American Medical Association (AMA) Dr. Donald J. Palmisano states:
“Senator Snowe has done a great job of making sure that patients in Maine and throughout the rest of the country have received the kind of care America is known for, the world’s best. She must continue that great work by siding with patients and voting against any attempt to introduce a government-run public health plan that will stifle America’s dynamic health care system. We are also concerned about co-ops and triggers because they could lead to a public option down the not-too-distant road.
“As the Senate begins to debate the new health care bill, it is essential that the best interest of patients remains their top priority. If a public option plan is imposed, not only will patients face higher costs and lower quality care, but the American health care system will have to cope with more government red-tape and less innovative breakthroughs. I am confident that these are not the kind of changes that Senator Snowe has worked her whole life to achieve.”
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