AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. John Baldacci says he will ask the new administration of President-elect Barack Obama in January to allow the state to expand the Dirigo Health insurance program using the federal Medicaid program.
“Where one door may have closed with the repeal of the taxes, the other door opened with the new administration,” Baldacci said in an interview. The governor said Obama said throughout the campaign that he would be more open to looking at innovative approaches to expanding access to health coverage.
“We have that in Dirigo,” he said. “I look at it [the election] overall as a plus.”
Voters overwhelmingly rejected the taxes lawmakers had narrowly approved earlier this year to fund Dirigo. The taxes, which included an additional 4 cents on a can of soda, 7 cents on a bottle of wine and 16 cents on a six-pack of beer, were opposed by a coalition that called itself “Fed Up With Taxes.” The coalition collected enough signatures to suspend the taxes and get its repeal question on the ballot. More than 64 percent of voters statewide supported the repeal on Nov. 4, according to unofficial election results compiled by the Bangor Daily News.
The governor said using the premiums paid by employers and individuals to Dirigo as a match for Medicaid funding could allow the program to cover more Mainers. Enrollment is now frozen. He said when the program first was passed in 2003, getting federal Medicaid dollars was part of the plan.
“We tried this with the Bush administration,” he said. “They rejected our effort but approved similar waivers for Massachusetts and Vermont.”
Such a waiver would be significant for the program. Employers and individuals are paying about $22 million a year in premiums. The state is providing subsidies of about $25 million through the savings offset payment. Medicaid would bring in about two federal dollars for every state or premium dollar.
“This was always constructed as a way to bring in more federal matching funds,” Baldacci said.
Funding for the current state subsidy comes from the savings offset payment, which is paid by health insurers based on a complex formula that determines the savings the Dirigo Health law has generated. The law is more than the insurance program and includes cost-containment provisions.
But last month the Maine State Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit charging the savings offset payment is unconstitutional. The governor shrugs off the legal challenge.
“The savings offset payment has been litigated once before,” Baldacci said. “It went all the way to the [state] supreme court, and they found it constitutional in their opinion.”
The state’s insurance superintendent determined in September that the health care system savings attributable to Dirigo Health amounted to $48.7 million last year, about one-third of what had been claimed by the Dirigo agency’s board.
Trish Riley, director of the Governor’s Office of Health Policy and Finance, said that was enough revenue to keep the program going, but not enough to expand it to help reduce the number of uninsured in the state. According to the most recent statistics available — June figures from the U.S. Census Bureau — about 10 percent of Mainers are without health insurance.
“I would like to see us have the opportunity to leverage those private resources, those payments by employers and individuals,” Baldacci said. “What we are doing [with Dirigo] is keeping people [off] the Medicaid program and keeping them working.”
He said a major goal of the overall Dirigo program is reducing health care costs by prevention. He said that while the health insurance part of the program has received most of the attention, the other parts are also significant.
“It’s helping people become healthier,” Baldacci said. “It helps keep people from hospital emergency rooms and it is helping to improve our overall healthcare system.”
He said health quality improvement efforts are working and are part of Dirigo. He said such long-term efforts as reducing smoking and encouraging exercise will result in lower health care costs in the future.
“I will be long gone from here, and we will still be seeing benefits from the Dirigo program,” Baldacci said.
On 11/8/08 at 4:43 AM,
downbeat wrote:
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Obama will probably put more money in the medicaid programs so maybe our govenor can put in his 1/3 contribution to get the federal match and pay the hospitals in Maine to 500 million dollars he owes them. People who work and have group insurance are paying for the deficit. Needs to stop. The Dirigo program is a huge failure and he should just admit it and scrap it. If he paid the hositals and docs what maine care owes them, premiums could come down 30% for group plans and we would have more peple covered...
I don't think this administration has the horsepower to solve any of our problems...
On 11/8/08 at 6:23 AM,
augustapork wrote:
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I don't think Obama is anywhere near as numb as baldy. I doubt he'll be interested in tossing any money into that money pit. If we're lucky he'll toss Baldacci into the pit.
On 11/8/08 at 6:30 AM,
Inland wrote:
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I get it now. If it's Federal money it's not tax money at all. Golly. Maybe the feds will build and pave all the back roads that Towns haven't been able to afford paving because of all the other taxes imposed on us.
Everything's free in America
Klatu Barack Nicto
On 11/8/08 at 7:32 AM,
Philster wrote:
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If I remember correctly, Gov. Baldacci endorsed Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama. Good luck getting money from the federal government. You stated that Dirigo would be self sufficient. “I will be long gone from here, and we will still be seeing benefits from the Dirigo program,” Baldacci said. That's a joke. You have bigger problems such as a $150 million state shortfall which will probably grow to $500 + million. Things are going to get alot worst before it gets better.
On 11/8/08 at 7:53 AM,
changeneeded wrote:
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Dirigo is not "innovative"...stop the insanity and kill this garbage program once and for all. Take the Medicain monies and increase the limits some so more people can get on it. Dirigo is covering a lot of business owners and trust fund babies worth millions of dollars. NOT the people who need state and federal subsidized health care.
This country is REALLY screwed if Obama starts just misappropriating funds to any other wingnut liberal Governor who asks for something. But he's so spineless that he probably will.
On 11/8/08 at 7:56 AM,
UnhappyTaxpayer wrote:
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SHUT IT DOWN!
On 11/8/08 at 8:08 AM,
Tikitorch wrote:
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I agree with all of you... it is time to sort out the crap and get rid of it. Baldacci wants to cut jobs in State Govt expecting less people to do the same amount of work ,but he wants to keep this program. When will he realize this is a sinking ship and jump off the boat? I know there are people who depend on this program, but not as many as 1st predicted and not as many as Baldacci wants to layoff. For example he wants the District Attys to lay off staff, but yet I assume he wants them to try the same amount of cases in the same amount of time! What is he going to do with the transportation dept DHS who handles all the welfare cases (welfare is another dept he needs to look at streamlining)..we have roads in the state that are damn near impassable but he hands out money to repave areas that don't need anything!!! Nothing this man does makes sense. Maybe Baldacci can help Obama pick out his new White House Puppy to kiss up...
On 11/8/08 at 8:14 AM,
garysavard wrote:
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Dirigo is a testament to Gov. Baldacci's stubborness. It is a huge financial failure by any measure, and should be mercifully put out of its' misery. I doubt Obama will be dumb enough to help subsidize this albatross.
On 11/8/08 at 8:52 AM,
UnhappyTaxpayer wrote:
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I don't care if it is merciful or bloody. SHUT IT DOWN.
On 11/8/08 at 9:02 AM,
changeneeded wrote:
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Question #1 should have been expanded to decide the fate of Dirigo directly, not just the beverage tax. The people of Maine are OVERWHELMINGLY against this program, just like they were the tax to keep it on life support. Baldacci is looking for cuts, but he won't cut this program because he is too stubborn. He wants to leave a legacy, but he's obviously not intelligent enough to realize that Dirigo is going to do nothing but tarnish his reputation more.
Particularly in an economy like this, we cannot afford programs like this. Get rid of it.
On 11/8/08 at 9:24 AM,
pcme2000 wrote:
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augustapork you said it 100% right. Gov. Baldacci's Dirigo Health needs to be shut down and Gov. Baldacci's to join it.
On 11/8/08 at 10:11 AM,
UnhappyTaxpayer wrote:
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It would be interesting to see how the public would react if it were a ballot question! I would love to see it and I would vote to SHUT IT DOWN!
On 11/8/08 at 10:29 AM,
Saltoria wrote:
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You all are complaining about Baldacci and his proposed cuts of state workers ( that is a GOOD thing), and his Dirigo health care program. I have many friends who work for the state and even they admit there is a lot of waste and their programs could easily run without as many workers. What we need to bring the cost of health care down is competition. Maine needs to bring more options for health insurance than the few that are available now. Whenever there is competition, the price of the service (or good) goes down and the quality goes up. That isn't going to happen if government gets control of providing health care....it needs to stay out of it. Health care is not a right, it is a privilege, just like having a drivers license.
On 11/8/08 at 10:32 AM,
DavidH wrote:
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Hopefully when the Obama administration says the Dirigo Health plan is not worth supporting the Governor will wake up to the fact that it just didn't work as planned. Anybody for ready for Dirigo 3.0?
On 11/8/08 at 1:25 PM,
JJHampden wrote:
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Saltoria brings up a Key point ! State borders need to be Open for more health insurance options and competition. Then we Will get a better price!
UnhappyTaxpayer, I feel another citizens initiative in the wind. Just make sure all the Augusta rules are followed to a Tee or they will squash it.
I Like it when the tail wags the dog!
.
On 11/9/08 at 12:28 PM,
safedman wrote:
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Saltori
Ge funny your buddies areas have too many workers. Because in our area we have women doing the work of 3. Three due to 3 getting done and someone pulling the slack with the state in a hireing freeze. These ladies should be getting a temp up-lift in pay for the excess.
Some areas there is waste. Straighten it out and stop lumping all state people into the same bundle.
.
On 11/9/08 at 12:35 PM,
BlueCollarBob wrote:
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Saltoria, there's competition in the health insurance industry all over the country. It hasn't made a bit of difference. People who live in Maine do not live in a vacuum. Safedman is right. You generalize too much. That's great for grandstanding, but it doesn't solve problems. We've seen that with the policies of the Bush administration over the past 8 years. Less government is great in theory but dysfunctional government is the problem here. And if you've forgotten where your compassion lies, remember what a great philosopher once said: "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me."
On 11/9/08 at 2:54 PM,
mshook wrote:
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changeneeded, what is the evidence that Dirigo is covering a lot of trust fund babies?
On 11/10/08 at 11:39 AM,
Tired2008 wrote:
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Our Govenor can't do his job so he enlists the help of our President elect to bail him out? C'mon Gov, let's stand on our own two feet.
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