Maine Legislature
House Democratic
Office
April
6, 2011
Contact:
Jodi Quintero [Treat], 287-1488, c. 841-6279
Mainers deserve
affordable health care
Maine-based insurance
marketplace would lower costs for all Maine people
Good
morning, I’m State Representative Sharon Treat from Hallowell.
Thank
you for tuning in.
This
week in Augusta, lawmakers considered important legislation that would have
made health care more affordable, by setting up
marketplaces where Maine people can compare insurance plans, and choose the one
that’s right for them.
The marketplaces -- called exchanges -- will give individual
consumers and small businesses more control, more quality choices, and better
protections if and when they need to shop for health insurance.
For too
long, the health insurance market has worked very well for big insurance
companies, but not so well for patients and providers. The fear that our
health insurance won’t be there when we need it most has been shared by
so many Maine families.
The
exchange will give thousands of Mainers peace of mind. Right now
too many middle class families have nowhere to turn if they lose the coverage
offered by their employer or simply can’t afford health care.
Middle
class families and businesses are feeling squeezed in this tough economy. A
Maine health exchange will help put more money in the pockets of middle class
families and businesses, by directly lowering the cost of going to the doctor.
Under
a Maine-based exchange, a family of four earning the median income of $46,000 a
year could get a tax credit of up to $10,000 a year. The credit would cover
nearly 80 percent of the family’s total cost of health care for the year.
This week
Republicans voted against setting up a Maine-based exchange. They chose to wait
for the federal government to step in.
Why delay
action to help Maine people lower health care costs? It makes no sense.
Lawmakers should be
quickly moving to lower health care costs for Maine people, not playing
politics in an election year.
Health
care problems are too big for one party to fix – we need to come together to
find a solution to strengthen Maine’s health care system today and for future
generations.
The
Affordable Care Act isn’t perfect, but we can’t go back to the health care
system we had before.
The Affordable Care Act gives hard working, middle class families
the security they deserve. It forces insurance companies to play by the rules.
It prohibits them from discriminating against anyone with a pre-existing
condition, from dropping your coverage if you get sick, from billing you into
bankruptcy because of an illness or injury, or from limiting your annual or
lifetime benefits.
A pro-consumer, Maine-based exchange will be an important health
insurance alternative for small business owners. Sole proprietors and people
who are unemployed will have the purchasing power of big companies.
Businesses, doctors, and hospitals all support a
Maine-based exchange. Even the Chamber of Commerce said the Republican vote
against setting up an exchange in Maine was a “lost opportunity” for Maine
people.
Doing nothing and waiting for the federal government to step in
won’t just delay access to affordable health care. It gives Maine people less
of a voice. Maine is the most rural state in the nation and we need more
than a cookie cutter exchange.
Instead of creating a Maine-based exchange for Maine people,
Republicans have advanced a “do-nothing” bill to require fingerprinting and
licensing of consumer advocates, who are supposed to help people obtain
affordable health insurance.
This
proposal violates federal law and will get in the way of helping more people
afford health care. It does not put Maine people first.
Everyone
in Maine should have access to affordable health care.
Maine
needs a consumer-friendly, cost-effective exchange that meets the needs of
Maine people.
It’s
not too late to call your lawmakers and urge them to vote to put your health
care first.
Thank
you for listening. I’m State Representative Sharon Treat.
Have
a wonderful holiday weekend with your family.
###
Jodi
Quintero
Communications
Director
House
Democrats
o.
207.287.1488
c. 207.841.6279