Just Ask Maine Business Owners How Well State Run Health Care Works: Initiative Filed to Repeal Huge Tax Hikes to Fund It

A business coalition in Maine appropriately called Fed Up With Taxes was formed to fight recent tax increases to shore up the state's subsidized health care coverage.  It is collecting 55,000 signatures to repeal taxes that the Maine Legislature passed last month to bail out DirigoChoice, the state-subsidized program offered to small employers and individuals.

The taxes include a first-ever Maine tax on soft drinks, a doubling of existing levies on beer and wine and a 1.8% tax on health care claims paid by insurers and third-party claims administrators.

The tax battle comes nearly five years after Maine lawmakers passed what then was considered a pioneering approach to dramatically reduce the state's uninsured population, then estimated at 190,000. But the program has been lambasted by critics:

"It has been a colossal, expensive failure with the program providing coverage to only a small percent of the uninsured," Tarren Bragdon, executive director of the Heritage Policy Center in Portland (ME) told Business Insurance Magazine.

"It is costing $50 million a year to provide coverage to a very small number of people," said Chris Hall, senior vice president of the Portland (ME) Regional Chamber of Commerce. "The costs clearly are outweighing the benefits."

Just less than 13,000 people are now covered by DirigoChoice, about 1% of the state's population, and a fraction of initial state enrollment predictions.

As Washington lawmakers, insurance commissioner and governor consider a greater role for state government in health insurance, they ought to be mindful of two things: 

1. How much is it going to cost taxpayers?  They need to do the math.
2. Will it do what it is predicted to do?  As Maine taxpayers are finding, wishful thinking is not always reality and there is no free lunch!

Don C. Brunell, President, Association of Washington Business (DonB@awb.org)

Comments

[Helen Benoit-Schultz]

Hi, I wanted to share with you and idea I have as a nurse who has worked here in Washington State for over thirty years.
If indeed the state will fund health care for lower income the way to do it for families is through the schools. Hire a school nurse for each school. The children get evaluations on entering each Fall and as needed throughout the year and at end of school year. The mother may take the younger than school aged children to school for needs two days a week. An educational seminar( Mandatory for those wanting to bring the younger children in)at two month intervals to catch the new arrivals. This could educate them on coming in early and not presenting at urgent cares and emergency rooms.

it is my notation that families present at the ER instead of a doctor earlier because they have not been educated on what to go see a medical person for and what they can do at home the way our mothers used to teach us. Those coming in from others countries are suspicious of medical persons but they may not be of a person at the school where they may come in sooner due to more trust.

Grants could be used to pay the nursing instructors more money thus more instructors to get more nurses through school. Grants or whatever to be given to nursing students to become school nurses, thus more workforce and more economic development happening with less $ for the care. Then those wanting to, could get private health care insurance less expensive. If you or someone you know, would like to use this idea let me know and we can discuss and develop it more for presentation to some one who could run with it.


I am a nurse but work for HueySystems.com (HueyHire.com)
(Huey Ed.com) and we will be working to change a lot of the way things happen in business, education, health and at home.
Helen Schultz
schultzhm64@earthlink.net Helen@gohuey.com
Corporate Manager Huey Systems INC.