Current Openings
There are no current openings for permanent positions with the office. If you are interested in being alerted about future openings, please reach out using the contact form.
Fellowships
The Maine Office of Affordable Health Care is seeking full or part-time paid Fellows to assist with research, writing, and policy development projects. This is an exciting opportunity for students or young professionals to gain hands-on experience with the policy making process at a state level.
About the Office
The Maine Office of Affordable Health Care was created by the legislature in 2021 and established in early 2023. The office is responsible for tracking and analyzing health spending in Maine, and proposing solutions with the potential to reduce costs for consumers and improve their experience with the health system.
Specifically, the office is directed by law to:
- Analyze health care cost growth and spending trends, including correlation to quality and consumer experience.
- Monitor the adoption of Alternative Payment Models in Maine and across the country.
- Develop proposals to improve:
- the cost-efficient provision of high-quality health care;
- coordination, efficiency, and quality of the health care system;
- consumer experience with the health care system;
- and health care affordability and coverage for individuals and small businesses.
- Provide staffing support to the Maine Prescription Drug Affordability Board.
The Office of Affordable Health Care is an independent executive agency, which works under the general policy direction of an Advisory Council and the Joint Standing Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance, and Financial Services.
In 2023- 2024, the office’s work will include creating its first annual report on trends in health spending in the state, producing a study of public option models, supporting a task force developing recommendations to protect consumers from facility fees, providing input to the legislature on any bills impacting affordability, and developing a policy agenda for the next legislative session.
About the Fellowships
The office is seeking students or recent graduates with a passion for health access and equity, who are interested in connecting evidence about health economics with on-the-ground policy development. Fellows will design their experience in collaboration with the Executive Director, and experiences may include contributing to several work products, or focusing on a single stand-alone project. Fellows will work directly with senior leaders in state government to advance the office’s goals.
While a range of projects are possible, and will be designed to support both the office’s mission and the fellow’s academic and professional goals, applicants should generally be interested in working within one of the following broad topic areas:
- Analyzing health spending trends and correlation to quality using existing public data sources (e.g., national health expenditure accounts) or claims data
- Insurance market dynamics
- Public option model development and interplay with existing coverage programs
- Hospital prices and financing
- Delivery system reform and implementation of value-based payment models
- Drug prices, particularly within the context of state authority
Fellowships may be performed remotely or in-person at the office’s Augusta location, and can be full- or part-time. Applicants should be able to commit a minimum of 10 hours per week, for a duration no shorter than three months. Fellows will be W-2 employees paid through a temporary staffing firm contracted with the state, and will be compensated $20/hour. Benefits are not provided.
Qualifications
Fellows should be graduate students or recent graduates of an advance degree program in public health, economics, public policy, or a similar related discipline. Applicants should be able to demonstrate experience in health care financing through coursework, professional experience, or a combination of the two.
To Apply
Please send a resume and brief cover letter to meg.garratt-reed@maine.gov. In your cover letter, please share why you are interested in the fellowship, specific areas of interest for research or further experience, as well as the time commitment and preferred length of the fellowship.