Advocates rally in Bangor for public option in health care
6/27/09 | 12 comments
health care

Advocates rally in Bangor for public option in health care


By Meg Haskell
BDN Staff

BANGOR, Maine — Uncle Sam was on life support in Pickering Square Saturday morning, a tangle of I.V. tubes draining dollar bills into his veins. The life-sized dummy in a hospital bed formed the backdrop for a rally of about 40 people who turned out in support of establishing a national public health coverage plan to compete with private insurance companies.

The issue has emerged as a divisive one in Congress, as lawmakers grapple with making comprehensive changes to the nation’s health care system. Most Democrats support the inclusion of the so-called “public option” but Republicans say a publicly funded non-profit agency would have an unfair business advantage and could cause the collapse of the private insurance industry.

“The conversation in Washington seems to have morphed into ‘Oh, we must protect the insurance industry,’” said Richmond attorney Alice Knapp, speaking at Saturday’s rally. Knapp, who formerly served as a state insurance regulator, said about 60 percent of Maine residents have health care coverage, including many with some form of taxpayer-funded health insurance such as Medicaid, Medicare, veterans and military coverage, state and federal employee plans, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Approximately 157,000 Mainers do not qualify for public coverage and can’t afford private insurance, she said, yet pay taxes to support the public plans.

“It’s like paying for public schools, but your kid can’t go,” Knapp said.

Bangor physician Elizabeth Weiss said she sees uninsured patients in her office every day who make health care decisions based on what they can and can’t afford to pay. The uninsured often elect to go without prescribed medications or recommended testing, Weiss said, making it likely they’ll get sicker instead of getting better.

Meanwhile, she said, private insurance companies continue to increase their profits by refusing coverage to people who are sick, spending less on people they do cover, and raising monthly premiums.

“Their first allegiance is to their stockholders and Wall Street,” Weiss said. “They are not primarily invested in patients or public health.”

Don Todd of Etna said he recently discontinued the $15,000-deductible health care policy that covered him and his wife against catastrophic illness. The policy served to protect the couple from bankruptcy in the event of a health crisis, but didn’t pay for any routine or preventive care, he said.

“I haven’t been to a doctor in I don’t know how long,” the 57-year-old said. “I’ve never had a colonoscopy, even though my mother died of colon cancer.”

Todd said the last straw in deciding to drop his Anthem policy was learning that the president of Wellpoint — the parent corporation of Anthem, Maine’s largest private health insurer — had been awarded a multi-million-dollar bonus.

It is clear, Todd said, that insurers like Anthem and Wellpoint are less interested in providing meaningful coverage than in maximizing profits.

Efforts on Friday and over the weekend to reach an Anthem spokesman for a response were unsuccessful.

Todd was among about 50 Mainers who flew last week to Washington D.C. for a pro-public-option rally and to meet with Congressional representatives.

“We really want a single-payer system,” he said, referring to the idea of a national Medicare-style plan that would cover all Americans and bypass the private insurance industry. “But we understand that, politically, it’s not going to happen. So we have got to get the public option included in the reform package.”

Todd said surveys have shown that approximately two thirds of Americans favor the idea of a government-run universal health care system, but that lawmakers of all parties are too “fearful” of losing campaign funding from powerful health industry groups to support a radical change.

Saturday’s rally was organized by the Maine People’s Alliance and Health Care for America Now, a non-profit group dedicated to seeing health care reform enacted this year.

On the Web: www.healthcareforamericanow.org

mhaskell@bangordailynews.net

990-8291

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Comments
12 comments on this item
On 6/28/09 at 2:06 AM, demsuk64 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Two thirds of the people support a single payer plan? Todd must also support the legalization of drugs becuase he is obviously using them. Here's a thought, if we want to hit those evil insurance companies where it hurts, halt all government healthcare programs. If NO ONE can afford health care than the prices will come down for the service. It's called supply and demand...the government is inflating health care costs by providing it to those who otherwise would be lost to Darwinism at the expense of honest hard working Americans. But hey, illegals should have health care too, right? They are our guests (uninvited) after all.

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On 6/28/09 at 6:13 AM, Mainer50 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

What assumptions and leaps that your making...That doesn't even make sense...one is not related to the other!!! There are many honest, hard working people and families that simply don't and can't afford health care. When the companies started monopolizing and butchering up the states like the mobs, thats when capitalism and supply and demand went out the window...better get updated with the facts before you speak. As Abe Lincoln said "...open mouth and remove all doubt".

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On 6/28/09 at 6:43 AM, pontesisto wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

If you would like to help pressure Congress to pass single payer health care please join our voting bloc at:

http://www.votingbloc.org/Health_Bloc.php

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On 6/28/09 at 7:42 AM, howbri wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

And the government create socialist health care because........?? Name ONE thing they do right NOW! You are fools if you think the government can administer a better health care plan. But most people don't care about quality as long as its FREE! Gimme, Gimme, Gimme.

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On 6/28/09 at 8:20 AM, Govt2Big wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

As most people know, our country has some major problems within the insurance industry. We have great healthcare options, but it’s far too expensive for many of us. However, it’s important for people to know who’s leading this local protest movement - Maine People’s Alliance.

If you look at their list of “Allies and Partners” at www.mainepeoplesalliance.org,

you’ll find the following Top-10 list of Far Left organizations:

MSEA-SEIU Local 1989, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, Teamsters Local 340, Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP), Family Planning Association of Maine, AFSCME Council 93, Maine Initiatives, Center for Community Change (CCC), Engage Maine, Health Care for America Now.

It’s unlikely those organizations care much about you and I, as it’s more likely they’re primarily concerned about their own selfish interests. It’s all about getting more money and more political power for them! Needless to say, I hope you don’t fall for their tricks.

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On 6/28/09 at 1:23 PM, TheCynic wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

"Approximately 157,000 Mainers do not qualify for public coverage and can’t afford private insurance, she said, yet pay taxes to support the public plans."

And how many Maine taxpayers do not have children in the schools?

If you can't afford private insurance, you probably need to get a better job. It is not the responsibility of the rest of us to pay for your insurance.

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On 6/28/09 at 2:17 PM, demsuk64 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

This is pretty simple really, i have money to support myself and family, other people do not. So they want me to pay for them. If you can't take care of yourself or your family that is not my problem, it is your problem. Why not look to what you can do for yourself to fix it and stop expecting the government to take MY MONEY to pay for you!

I'm sure this post will be deleted as well, people don't want to hear from those of us who actually pay the bills in this state. Isn't 40,000K in federal income tax enough for one person? Give me a break.

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On 6/28/09 at 2:24 PM, chersully2000 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Mainer50: Yes, there are many Maine families (and in other states as well) who sometimes work 2 and 3 jobs to support their families and still cannot afford health insurance. Sometimes it is a matter of falling through the cracks, so to speak.....making a little too much to qualify for some kind of assistance but nowhere enough to be able to afford the cost of healthcare today, including the outrageous cost of medicines.

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On 6/28/09 at 4:12 PM, MaineExpatriat wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

If your company doesn't offer health insurance and pay at least 75% of it than it is nearly a given that none of you could afford health insurance. Get off your high horses. The 50,000,000 in this country that don't have health insurance are of all spectrums. They are not looking for a hand-out. What you people don't know about the world around you is darned near everything.

Yes, I do have health insurance because my company still pays 80% of the premiums - but that is the only reason I can afford it.

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On 6/28/09 at 5:58 PM, DTOMAnytown wrote: Click here to view hidden comment         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden
On 6/28/09 at 6:01 PM, Sledman wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

If you think health insurance is expensive now, wait until the govt steps in & mismanages it. One way or another, we will have to pay more.

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On 6/28/09 at 8:30 PM, maineboy wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

40 people ,nice crowd.

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