As Congress wades into a major debate on health care reform, Mainers can brace themselves for an onslaught of television ads and other public relations efforts.
The campaign began with a round of ads in Maine and several other states last week in which a coalition of interest groups linked action on health care to economic recovery.
The push continued when several Maine advocacy groups joined in a broader effort and issued a call at a Portland press conference last week for a public national health insurance option.
Maine lies in the cross hairs of the reform debate largely because of Republican U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe's position on the Senate Finance Committee. That panel will be handling health care bills because of its jurisdiction over federal entitlement programs.
John Gentzel, a spokesman for Snowe, said the committee continues to gather information on health care options and is expected to report out a bill next month.
"A lot of people are working really hard at this," he said.
Whether the federal government should create a public insurance option for those who cannot afford or access private insurance will be a key reform issue.
A coalition of Maine small-business groups and the Maine People's Alliance, a consumer and health care advocacy group, released a report last week highlighting a lack of competition and rising costs in the private insurance market in Maine.
The report cited separate studies by the American Medical Association and Families USA showing that two insurance companies control 88 percent of the Maine market, and that premiums have risen at five times the rate of individual income from 2000 to 2007.
"If we don't implement a public insurance plan this year, private health insurers will continue to drive prices as high as they want with no fear of decreased demand, and consumers will continue to suffer from escalating rates and worse coverage," said Ali Vander Zanden, an alliance organizer.
Last Wednesday's press conference was one of several coordinated by Health Care for America Now, a national coalition. Its members include more than 1,000 groups representing health care providers and advocates, social justice issues, labor unions and others.
The press conference came one week after another group, Healthy Economy Now, launched a $500,000 television advertising campaign. The 30-second spots aired in Maine and six other states with senators who are seen as moderates on reform.
The ad claims that reducing health care costs would save 3.5 million jobs. "Fix health care," the ad's narrator says. "It's a big part of fixing the economy."
Sponsors of the campaign include several health care industry groups, unions and other organizations that recently proposed a voluntary $2.3 trillion reduction in health care costs.
Gentzel, the Snowe spokesman, said Snowe believes a national public health insurance option should be used as a "last resort" if other reforms in the private market fail.
"It is clear that current insurance markets are not working properly," Snowe said in a written statement. "The solution lies in reforming and regulating markets to produce greater competition and lower costs, and ensure consumers are protected."
Kevin Kelley, spokesman for Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, said Collins is committed to a few key priorities, including accessibility, price, quality and freedom of choice for consumers.
"She believes the goal should be universal health care coverage, and she wants to see what the Senate Finance Committee proposes," Kelley said.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat, supports a national public health insurance option, while Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud said he is open to all options, provided they are fiscally responsible.
Snowe and other Senate Finance Committee members have been working on health care reform for more than a year, hosting a series of roundtables with key figures and sponsoring meetings in their states to gather comments from health care organizations.
Rank-and-file lawmakers have begun introducing various health care proposals, but Democratic and Republican party leaders are still ironing out the details of a major bill.
Political Correspondent Dieter Bradbury can be contacted at 791-6329 or at:
dbradbury@pressherald.com
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