Maine's Healthcare Reform Proposal - Dirigo Health

The following information was released by the State of Maine:

Dirigo Health was designed to reform three major issues of healthcare:

1. Contains costs
2. Ensure access to quality and affordable coverage for the uninsured and underinsured
3. Improves the quality of health care.
   

Under the Dirigo Health plan, coverage will be expanded by a new health insurance product for small businesses, self-employed and unemployed with subsidies for low-income people; and expansion of Medicaid to additional parents and adults without dependent children.

One of the Dirigo Health plan's goals was to cover the estimated 130,000 residents who had no insurance by 2009, starting with 31,000 of them by the end of 2005, the program’s first year. Unfortunately, they did not meet their goal and as a result the Governor will reform its reforms. The Governors new proposals include the following [1]:  

• Requiring people to have insurance and employers to offer it and penalizing them financially if they do not
• Making the subsidized insurance plan, DirigoChoice, more affordable for small businesses
  
• Creating a separate insurance pool for high-risk patients
  
• Instituting more Medicaid cost controls; and having the state administer DirigoChoice, which is now sold by Anthem Blue Cross
  

Source: http://www.dirigohealth.maine.gov/

[1]: "As Health Plan Falters, Maine Explores Changes" (The New York Times, April 30th, 2007)

This page was last updated on April 30, 2007