Maybe Congress should look at regulation of the healthcare industry. Maybe the insurance companies are the ones to blame. When you can go to South America and have the same surgery for much less(including lodging and travel), than that is the best option. Once they allowed prescription drugs to be bought outside the US the price of the drugs dropped dramatically. Put blame where it is due, on the insurance companies, but don't scream that government health care is the only option. Dirigo failed miserably...$300 milliion to insure 10,000 people is ridiculous, you can get health insurance cheaper from Blue Cross Blue Shield. There is a cost, but I guess you don't see it if you aren't working 80 hours a week just to pay taxes.

State Representative Adam Goode makes an excellent point. In all this time, if the insurance companies were going to "clean up their act" and make some necessary changes, why hasn't it been done by now??? I think we know the answer.

If your not satisfied with the present system just wait till government fixes it, nobody will have good medical. Has anbody seen government fix anything?

The more government is involved, the more we will be screwed.

HeadedSouth666 - "Has an(y)body seen government fix anything? Yeah I have: The boat landings on Maine lakes and rivers, the roads we drive on, the old dams abandoned by defunct businesses, the toxic waste created by old industries, large scale hydro-electric power, the criminals jailed, put astronauts on the moon, Hubble space telescope, bail out banks and auto companies, made sure Halliburton and the other war-profiteers were profitable, and on and on and on . . .

These things are all done with the cooperation of the "private sector". It sounds to me like you have already decided that any attempt at cooperation between public and private is bound to fail. But you ignore the reality that Medicare uses 4% of every dollar for administrative costs while "private insurance" averages something like 20 to 30%. Admittedly, the Medicare drug benefit costs more to administer, but that is managed by "private" insurance companies.

Remember when Anthem bought Maine's not for profit insurer - Blue Cross Blue Shield? We had low cost coverage before the sale, but not since. There's your business efficiency for you - its in Anthem's profits. Remember when hospitals were run by doctors and nurses? Now they are run by "health care administrators" - completely new layers of highly paid bureaucracy. It used to be Eastern Maine General, now it has multiple subsidiaries, some of which have very little to do with health care. And they pay excessive salaries to the top layer while cutting jobs and benefits for the people who actually care for the patients. There's business efficiency for you - grossly inflated pay for CEO's.

Stop whining about government inadequacy and start offering solutions that take reality into account. The reality is that the "private" health insurance industry would not even exist if the value of the benefit was treated like the income it is. We have given insurers a "pre-bailout" for years.

Here's my suggestion: make private health insurance benefits taxable, provide public health care, grant immunity from malpractice suits to medical professionals who provide a set amount of their time to "pro-bono" care, and make medical expenses not recoverable in personal injury and accident cases. Employer costs would plummet: no health insurance to buy, no workers comp medical, no auto insurance med-pay, and on and on and on . . . .

What's your suggestion?

If medicare and maine care paid their bills commercial rates would drop 30%... as they are shifted the shortfall.. it is not all the " bad Insurance companies ' fault for god's sake...can people just friggin wake up on this issue.. The goverment is a huge part of the problem...maybe the discussion should be to have this all go out to private market and maybe have goverment play the role of helping people who need help with premiums..

Facts to consider everyone.. 164 million with health insurance from their employer....14 million buy individual coverage.....42 miliion have medicaid.. 39 million have Medicare and 49 million do not have coverage...all 49 million have access and those unpaid bills are shifted to private insurance company claims...which is shifted to us in premiums.. is that fair??

For those satisfied with the current state of the health industry - you must either work for them or have your insurance covered by your employer - either case - it must be nice. We haven't been able to afford health insurance; even with a 10 thousand deductible for nearly 3 years now. I don't want the government to pay for mine, I just want it AFFORDABLE. When did everyone's HEALTH become a for-profit industry?? I think it is disgusting how every aspect of industry has become SO GREEDY. It didn't get much press - but in meetings between the insurance companies and congress last week, when asked if they would stop dropping people with legitimate health problems and refusing to pay (even though the people had been PAYING their premiums) the insurance companies very blatently said NO.

It's not insurance, folks. It's health care. Put your focus in the right area. Government does nothing efficiently. Look at Medicare/Social Security. It's nearly broke, but nobody is talking about that. We didn't have "low cost" coverage before Anthem bought BCBS. It was still expensive. Harvard Pilgrim is non-profit. How come they can't sell affodable insurance in Maine, if it's all about insurance companies and profit? Seems like they could undercut Anthem and Aetna and have 90% of the market, no problem.

This is such dishonest reporting. A front page story which sources two groups which advocate for socialized medicine. This belongs on the editorial page. It is a propaganda piece, not a news story,

I have come to expect such dishonesty from the BDN.

In the immortal words of Ronald Reagan, one of the greatest American presidents EVER, " government is not the solution, government is the problem".

But many of you pinheads that voted for Nobama don't care to look at the facts. The reason healthcare AND insurance is so expensive is precisely because of government interference. Government has already eliminated most competition which would lower costs. Now they want it all with socialized medicine.

You can kiss your social security and retirement goodbye if we get it!!

I agree with Adelaide.

It is outrageous that the American people still don't have a public health care choice.

Stand with Dr. Howard Dean and show your support for a public health care option by signing this petition http://standwithdrdean.com/

Any legislation without the choice of a public option is only insurance reform and not the healthcare reform America needs.

For anyone with an interest:

Please join us as a member of the audience at the event, or by listening to the live broadcast.

WERU-FM to Broadcast Forum on Health Care System Reform

"Single Payer: Fact vs. Fiction"

Tuesday, June 23, 6 - 8 p.m.

WERU Community Radio (89.9 FM Blue Hill and 102.9 Bangor) will present a special live radio broadcast on health care system reform entitled "Single Payer: Fact vs. Fiction" on Tuesday, June 23rd, 6 - 8 p.m. This forum will feature a panel discussion in front of an interactive studio audience at the Alamo Theatre on Main Street in Bucksport and will focus on the single payer option that has largely been left out of the national political debate.

Panelists will include Jerry Call of Midcoast Healthcare Reform, Tarren Bragden of the Maine Heritage Policy Center, single-payer advocate Phil Caper, MD. and Joel Allumbaugh of National Worksite Benefit Group and the Maine Association of Health Underwriters.

Panelists will represent different perspectives and positions on healthcare reform and will discuss reform options currently under consideration, especially the pros and cons of a single payer healthcare system. Audience members in the theatre will contribute questions and comments. Jim Fisher, host of the WERU public health program "Common Health" and a planner with the Hancock County Planning Commission, will moderate the forum.

Admission is free and questions and comments may be emailed in advance to info@weru.org for those who cannot attend the event itself.

That's "Single Payer: Fact vs. Fiction," a special town hall style forum on health care reform, Tuesday, June 23rd, 6 - 8 p.m. at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport and broadcast live on WERU. More information and an archive of this special broadcast will be available at www.weru.org

upsidedownia....we have 2 public options medicare and medicaid who don't pay the cost.. it is discounted and shifted to private insurance...hopefully Mr Bragdon and give you just facts and maybe you will see what is really going on..Based on your prior response it appears you have a built in bias...

also.. I live on the candian border... they have insurance and no access.. we have the opposite.. they ration care... are we ready for that?

Downbeat, private insurance doesn't pay full cost either. Private insurance typically pays only half to two-thirds the cost, that is if they pay at all. The only people paying full price are people who can't afford insurance but who aren't eligible for Medicare or Medicaid. Perhaps Mr. Bragdon can answer your questions as well.

If you think healh care is expensive now WAIT UNTIL ITS FREE....I grew up in Canada...great heath care when you can get it....compare your current tax deductions on your W2 with any Canadians T4 and you will know what I am talking about.

upsidedownia... people who get services without health insurance are leaving ton's of unpaid debt on the books...if we had a medicaid buy in program for working poor that would help...dirigo was supposed to do that but again all promises no money to fund it correctly .. goverment incompetence again..

If you tax my health insurance. That's it. I'm joining the ranks of the uninsured. To the 21 year old college student about your debt. Send them five dollars a month until it is paid and you will be fine. Be careful what you wish for in a govt funded health care system. Visited a VA hospital lately? Also, with the way that today's HMO's work, the referral system, you would have probably had to go thru the antibiotic scenario regardless of whether or not you had insurance. If you had govt. insurance you probably would have had to go thru the same process also. They would have to approve of your surgery after all....heck maybe you'd be dead waiting.;

You might be able to negotiate a lower bill for your surgery. Some dr's will accept what insurance would have paid. All you have to do is ask.

With all the heat and light on this subject little is being said about how lawsuits against health care providers factor into the equation. If someone has been further "injured" by a health care provider they deserve compensation--but some awards are ridiculous. To help defray an award the health care providers buy insurance. If claims go up then the premiums go up. Who do the providers pass that cost on to? By ignoring this subject apparently there are those who feel if we ignore the issue it will go away. Maine BCBS when it was around perhaps kept costs down but the powers that be decided that it could no longer be afforded so it was sold off. Here again Augusta made the decision for betterment of the people. Also certain laws rules and regulations from Augusta have driven the costs for insurance in Maine up. (You know greater government regulations help everyone). The big push is for the government to take over health care and the media has jumped on the band wagon. It will be something for patients to debate while waiting to see a health care provider after the government takeover. May be a problem getting all together to do this. New government program larger waiting rooms.

Thank you David H and Commonsense ... you are right!!!

Downbeat, talk about having a one-sided view. There are plenty of uninsured people who pay their bills in full, myself included. I'm sure there are just as many deadbeats in the "insured" ranks. I think a Medicaid buy-in program for the working poor as you said is an excellent idea!

Government should provide a safety-net where private insurance doesn't cover. Gov't should not take over health insurance.

If we want to find the true facts about government run healthcare we could ask any number of the thousand unwed mothers DHHS provides free health care for. You know the ones...The women strolling Griffen rd with three kids from 3 different job corp students. Or ask the ones that move here from all corners of the word because of our welfare system, the one that only requires a blood pressure. Ask them about free healthcare, and all the benny's they get from our hard work. I'm sure they think its awesome. Ask any of the Birkenstock wearing, tree hugging cse workers at DHHS that dole out our hard money about it. They think its awesome...

There's too much profit taking and not enough health in our present health care system.

A single universal public plan is what's needed, but simply introducing a 'public option' to compete in the current system is just asking for trouble. Costs will continue to skyrocket as any public option will just be one more cow lining up to be milked.

Private for-profit health insurance is a parasite that needs to be squashed not protected. All of the profit that lines Anthem CEO's pocket got there by driving up the cost of health care for all of us. The 'rules' that some in Augusta passed that are 'keeping' affordable health insurance out of Maine are the same rules that say they can't drop your coverage if you get sick, or that they have to cover preexisting conditions. You know, so you can actually _use_ the health insurance you are paying for. It must really suck to be forced to provide the service your customers are paying you for. It would be like renting a house and getting evicted if you ever tried to actually move in.

As for health care rationing, we already have it. The difference is that here it's rationed by wealth. If you are poor, you go to the back of the line. A platinum American Express will let you have completely medically unnecessary procedures done (cosmetic enhancement surgery anyone) while a poor child with a cleft pallet sits on a waiting list. We have the best health care money can buy. Unfortunately what we are left with is being in the untenable position of 'your money or your life'. The reason health insurance rates have gone up more than five (5) times the median income is because it can.

The dysfunctional health care system is driving people to bankruptcy, costing thousands, if not millions of jobs, and placing our health somewhere in the mid thirties (as in there are thirty some countries that are healthier than we are). If we have the 'best health care in the world' then why don't we have the healthiest people, the lowest infant mortality, the longest lifespans? The reason is that we don't. What we have is the best health care system for the few at the top to rake in the most money. The health care train is heading for a cliff, unless it changes it will take the whole country down with it. Already, people are looking out the window, they see the approaching cliff and are panicking. Are the profits of the select few worth going over the cliff for? I don't think so.

Listen to the people who think we should keep the present system. They are inevitably people making the most money in the current system. They are willing to make an 'adjustment' (like covering the windows with pictures of the sea shore, or idyllic mountain vistas ) but are unwilling to jeopardize their gravy train by supporting the radical changes we need to make.

We need to have a purely public system. Everyone needs to be covered, rich/poor, young/old, healthy/sickly. It needs to reign in costs to what's realistic. What it actually costs plus a little more to encourage people to enter the medical field. It needs to be paid for with broad based taxes like social security or income taxes. It needs to focus on keeping healthy people healthy and getting sick people better. If this means more testing and preventative care and less profitable designer meds and catastrophic care, then everyone except those raking in bucket loads of money will be better off.

We will be healthier, happier citizens. Our industries can focus on making money without debilitating health care costs that their competitors in other countries have to worry about.

We should be urging our Congressmen to push for the only true solution to our health care dilemma, a pure public health care system. If they ask about the effect on the private insurance industry, or the highly profitable pharmaceutical industry (you know the same ones that spend billions advertising drugs we can't prescribe to ourselves) ask them just who their constituents are? Are they there to support your the voter, the citizen, or to look after the best interests of the industries that make large 'contributions'?

Think about it.

Dew you mean the single moms that should have had their tubes tied so they can't have anymore children on the tax payers buck Russ?????

Yes Telefunk...the ones that drag them half bred raisinettes up and down griffen road.

Perhaps government should get out of the healthcare field. The wonderful, intelligent and glorious legislative hacks down in Augusta have decided that 'for the good of the commune(ity)", they should RESTRICT the number of medical insurance companies that can sell policies in Maine to the lofty sum of TWO. Yes, that is correct, TWO medical insurance companies (of the hundreds or perhaps thousands offered to the rest of the country) are PERMITTED by our great legislature to offer their product in Maine. Ergo, the PREMIUMS are 5 times higher than the same policy offered in New Hampshire! We have a great medical policy that my husband worked hard for his entire career, but it does not cover dental. There is a seperate dental policy that can be purchased, but the premiums are quite high, and coverage only goes up to 50% of the procedure costs for the first 3 years. We would have to rack up $3000. in proceedures to "break even" after paying the monthly premiums. We pay cash for all dental work, so I began looking at the dental insurance programs advertised on TV, such as Humana, Encore, etc. I even looked at dental discount programs where you pay a small fee each month (like 10 or 20 bucks) and you get discounts on dental care, optical, chiropractic and prescriptions. Know what I was told when I called each company to get insurance or discounts? "OH, I'M SORRY, WE ARE NOT PERMITTED BY MAINE STATE LAW TO SELL OUR INSURANCE IN YOUR STATE" Isn't that a Freakin' HOOT! Really now---who the f'in He!L do they think they are PROHIBITING MAINE RESIDENTS from buying insurance from competing insurers?????? How would you all feel if the legislature passed a law tomorrow that PROHIBITED ALL BUT State Farm and Allstate insurance companies from insuring your autos and homes? Wait, I better not give those retards down there any ideas.....

Look how Dirigo worked, folks. Need more proof? The problem is that people, when frustrated, just look to Uncle Sam instead of looking to actually fix the problem. I have bad news, folks. We're out of money...

The article is disappointing in that there are only two alternatives offered; do nothing or promote a public health program. Other alternatives deserve serious consideration. We do need to lower the cost of private health insurance in Maine.

Some basic principles to incorporate into a reform program:

1) Separate health insurance from welfare. [ Example: Guaranteed issue is not health insurance. It is welfare.] Put all social mandates for subsidized health care in the DHS budget, where it will be visible and will have to compete with other welfare budget costs. Health insurance premiums should not be funding socially mandated, subsidized health care costs.

2) Portability - employer furnished health insurance has been a cause of problems in health care, not a solution. Workers enjoying the benefit of company furnished health insurance are insulated from the cost of health care. Anyone losing a job knows the untenable cost of extending Cobra benefits.

End the tax deductibility for corporate health insurance while allowing companies to offer competitive benefit packages by continuing tax deductions for other health related programs. Extend full tax deductibility to individuals. Encourage creation of Medical Savings Account for all families and individuals. The health insurance in the plan is then the property of the individual and is portable. The tax deferred assets accumulating in the account are the property of the individual.

3) Make health insurance a competitive market commodity. As a Maine citizen, we can log on to the Internet and get many competitive quotes for Life Insurance. Maine’s health insurance policies are loaded to the gunnels - with subsidies for unprofitable hospitals, mandated coverage for the uninsurable and pages of regulation specific to Maine. We should be able to obtain competitive quotes from health insurance companies as expansive as those representing Life Insurance products. But this is dependent upon a simple axiom: we get sick, it fixes us.

Health care is not a right; it is not a privilege. It is something that prudent, responsible people do to protect themselves. We should allow a first time opportunity for a free market solution to work in Maine.

I for one have not had health insurance for years! in my family we pay payments on our health care. I did get a quote for a low budget policy and it was $800. a month for one dependent and two adults! Who the hell in this state can afford that?