Max Baucus: “it has been said that, ``Good health and good sense are two of life's greatest blessings.'' Senators Hatch, Rockefeller…”

“it has been said that, ``Good health and good sense are two of life's greatest blessings.'' Senators Hatch, Rockefeller, Jeffords and I hope to further the cause of good health and good sense today, through introduction of the Health Care Safety Net Oversight Act of 2003. Currently no entity oversees America's health care safety net. This means that safety net providers--including public and teaching hospitals, emergency departments, community health centers and rural health clinics--are laboring on their own. They are like master musicians performing without a conductor. Each is trying their hardest and performing their part--but no one is coordinating their efforts. This Act changes that, by creating the Safety Net Organizations and Patient Advisory Commission--SNOPAC--an independent and nonpartisan commission to monitor the health care safety net. Safety net providers are often the last resort for patients unable to afford the health care they need. For example, in my State of Montana, we have eight community health centers, serving about 44,000 Montanans per year. Without these health centers, many of these uninsured and underinsured Montanans would have no place to turn. According to a recent report, nearly 75 million Americans lacked health insurance at some time in the past two years--amounting to almost one-third of all Americans younger than 65.”