AUGUSTA, Maine — Members of a legislative committee disagreed Wednesday over how the state should structure and oversee a new health insurance exchange.
Mandated under the federal health reform law to be in place by 2014, the exchanges are designed to serve as a marketplace for individuals and businesses to shop for health insurance coverage. The Legislature’s Insurance and Financial Services Committee met Wednesday to consider two bills governing how Maine’s exchange would operate, but failed to reach a compromise.
Both bills propose setting up an independent health exchange funded by an assessment on insurers for all paid claims. A bill sponsored by Rep. Sharon Treat, D-Hallowell, would phase out the state’s Dirigo Health program to make way for the exchange and set up an oversight board that would include at least two consumer representatives.
The second bill, sponsored by Rep. Jonathan McKane, R-Newcastle, proposes a board consisting of 10 members appointed by the governor, including four representing insurers and brokers, three from the health provider sector, two employers and one buyer of individual insurance.
Also in play is a set of recommendations crafted last year by a nine-member advisory panel appointed by Gov. Paul LePage which proposed housing the exchange within a state department rather than establishing it as an independent agency.
The committee members agreed to meet again next week to discuss the bills.
I think they need some new ideas and less money from the insurance companies.
And what if they go to all this trouble and the Supreme Court strikes down Obamacare?
Let’s hope so.
What kind of depraved mind could consider putting the word “care” after someone’s name to be an insult?
How much clearer can the GOP/Tea Party make it for you? They don’t care about people. They care only for people who make money off people. We all know that Corporations are people now, right? Corporations need to eat, and they don’t care who they eat.
The republican plan “Proposes a board consisting of 10 members appointed by the governor, including four representing insurers and brokers, three from the health provider sector, two employers and one buyer of individual insurance.”
Translation; 10 people specially selected by Mr. LePage (We know what he thinks of providing the poor and middle class healthcare by now don’t we?). Nine of which are the people in positions that are MOST interested in keeping or putting healthcare money in their own pockets and one lone buyer/consumer. Now even if that lone buyer/consumer wasn’t receiving a “Special Kickback” for his/her service as a lackey for Mr. LePage, what do you think EVERY vote tally would be anytime “Paul’s” special board has to make decisions between Making/Saving money for people who make money off people Vs. simply providing needed healthcare coverage to individuals/consumers? That’s exactly right 9 to 1 every freakin time.
Most Mainers would benefit from this GOP/Tea Party plan how? Vote accordingly next November.
Excellent point, Still.
Reducing consumers to a token role in determining the bests ways for consumers to purchase health insurance is an obscene corruption of the law’s intended benefits to consumers.
Think how much time and effort and money we could save if we just stopped dancing with the devil and accept the fact that single payer healthcare is far and away the most logical solution to all our health care problems.
Interesting detail left out of this article: Lepage proposed expanding Dirigo Health to handle this issue.
Yep, he not only fully funded Dirigo with absolutely NO cuts, he also wants to expand it.
Any Lepage voters feel betrayed on this?
Why can’t everyone be allowed to (uhh for this to work you must ) first
– buy into MaineCare – on a sliding scale according to income – the
basic Wall Mart plan – and if you want the Platinum plan – you can buy
it from private insurance. The insurance companies are making obscene
profits on basic plans – why not let the state make the profits – and
wait – perhaps lower taxes. Also eliminate ALL employer provided
insurance – everyone has to pay their own way. That will immediately
lower premiums as union mandated coverage would no longer be allowed. I
never understood how unions can mandate that taxing authorities
purchase health insurance from a private company – how is that free
market?
I agree it would be great if this could work in the State of Maine. Unfortunately, if the hospitals and Providers are to be believed, it costs them more to treat a Maine Care recipient than they are ever reimbursed.
Pretty much the same position is being taken with respect to Medicare, now, as well
– it doesn’t pay ‘enough’.
Logically speaking then, the answer seems to point to lowering costs.
One way to do that is to get insurance companies out of the business. They have considerable overhead and add nothing to the quality of health care in the US. They ‘shuffle paper’, as it were.
They are not really in the ‘claims business’. They are in the ‘premium business’.
It’s a racket. They have tremendous conflicts of interest. Given a choice between paying for legitimately prescribed standards of care AND cutting a corner, here and there, at the customers expense, guess who is going to come out on top? It is still a business, after all. They don’t do it ‘for nothing’.
In the meantime, and I have been saying this for 20 years, until we com up with a better system everybody needs to kick in – hospitals, Providers, pharmaceutical companies, Federal/state governments, insurers, medical schools, AND patients.
And oh, Medicare still works – for patients. Which is, of course, the object of the exercise,
in my view.
There is an easy solution to this whole health care mess. No health care for a single member of Congress until every American has coverage of some sort. Do this, and they will get right on it.
The Dirigo Health Plan did not work for all businesses, just a select few. It does not need to be resuscitated. As a business owner who pays dearly for my private health insurance I would like to have more choices. For example, I belong to a National Organization that offers discounted health insurance to its members. But because I live in Maine I cannot participate in this health plan. This plan would save me considerably on health insurance. I feel we need to have more options for purchasing health insurance from other companies OUTSIDE of Maine.
What’ s the organization, if you don’t mind telling? And why can’t you participate in Maine?