Increasing access to affordable health care

In 2009, the legislature created the Maine “Health Care Bill of Rights,” to improve transparency, disclosure and oversight of the health care industry; established an in-home and community support system for adults with long-term care needs; and expanded rural access to preventive dental care. In 2010, the legislature passed first-in-the-nation legislation banning annual and lifetime caps on insurance policies, protecting those suffering from severe illness from also facing catastrophic debt. Created a legislative task force to help implement national health care reform. Expanded health benefits and access to insurance for children with developmental disabilities, for the unemployed and for Mainers with prosthetic limbs. Sent a bond to the voters to support rural dental clinics and a Maine dental school.