CIGNA's Commitment to Health Care Reform

While proposals to reform the American health care system vary widely, there is consensus among all stakeholders that there is a need for meaningful and sustainable reform. CIGNA clearly recognizes this need and is taking a proactive role in contributing to the reform discussions. We recognize that America’s high and growing health care bill (totaling nearly $2 trillion in 2006) is driven by several factors, including wide variations in access, quality and costs, which reflect inefficiencies in the delivery of care.

Increases in the cost of health care have led to higher health plan premiums, which have contributed to the increase in the number of people without coverage. Although almost 250 million Americans have health care coverage, some 47 million are uninsured for at least part of the year according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The discussion about the uninsured and costs of care, as well as quality and efficiency, often revolves around whether the private or public sector—or a combination of both—is best equipped to run the U.S. health care system. We believe neither the government nor the private sector alone can do this alone. Private health plans, the government, employers, health care providers and individuals have important roles to play in expanding access, providing choice, and lowering and controlling costs.

We believe:

• Private health plans should continue to provide innovative solutions that create individual responsibility for health, wellness and financial security and that achieve cost savings.
• The government should play a more active role in facilitating adoption of common regulatory, transparency, technology and transactional standards; enacting tort reforms; making needed changes to the individual insurance market; and providing a safety net for people who do not have the means to buy coverage.
• Employers should continue to provide access to—and assist in the financing of—meaningful health care coverage for their employees and offer benefit plan designs that help their employees improve their health and quality of life.
• Providers should support standards designed to improve both the quality and efficiency of the care they deliver and educate their patients by providing them with the information they need to take greater ownership of their health and wellness.
• Individuals should obtain coverage for themselves and their dependents and take personal responsibility for their own health decisions to the extent they are able.

This paper, developed by CIGNA's Public Policy Council, represents the guiding principles that CIGNA believes are necessary to help all decision-makers engage in fact-based discussions about reforming the health care system.

Oral Testimony to U.S. House or Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Domestic Policy Subcommitee
Tom Richards, Senior Vice President of Product Delivery, CIGNA
September 17, 2009