Wednesday, 11 April 2007
Maine Governor Lays Out Health Insurance Mandates
Maine Governor John Baldacci laid out a detailed plan to move his state towards universal healthcare. The plan includes a package of proposals that would eventually require all Maine residents to have health insurance.
One of Baldacci’s proposals would require all individuals with incomes over 400% of the Federal poverty level — about $39,000 — to purchase health insurance. Employers will also be required to provide health insurance for their workforce or pay a penalty that would fund state-subsidized coverage.
Another proposal includes an overhaul of their Medicaid program, MaineCare. Baldacci wants to begin a large reform of the program through stimulating private insurance competition and the growth of their state-subsidized DirigoChoice health plan, reported the Bangor Daily News and the Associated Press.
Baldacci will urge residents who can afford private health insurance to buy in the private market, instead of applying for state subsidized coverage.
Baldacci’s package of proposals is receiving mixed reactions, and the governor and his cabinet are aware that it will be difficult to appeal to all groups.
“We’ve been in a polarized, ideological war,” said director of the Governor’s Office of Health Policy and Finance, Trish Riley. “[But] it’s time to incorporate all these ideas in order to make unsubsidized coverage more affordable and keep the Dirigo program strong.”
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