Dirigo Health press action and hearing

New bill in Maine legislature would improve DirigoChoice plan


Feb. 7 MPA press action: Do you see the Anthem fox in the Dirigo henhouse?

Yesterday I attended a press event and legislative hearing in Augusta concerning the fledging DirigoChoice health insurance program. We are enrolled in this program and consider it vital not only to our own continued health, but to that of the entire state.

Yesterday, the Maine People's Alliance, a pro-Dirigo grassroots organization in which I am a member, held the press event for the purpose of releasing the results of a small experiential study concerning how the private contractor--the insurance giant Anthem, now responsible for marketing and servicing Dirigo for the state of Maine--is meeting its responsibilities for Dirigo. It's a checkered report. The situation as described by MPA and supporters is that Anthem is the ``fox in the henhouse'' where Dirigo is concerned. READ THE MPA REPORT HERE.

The event coincided with a hearing on a piece of new legislation (LD 1845) designed to give the Dirigo program more options and more flexibility in deciding who will provide the services necessary to run the program.

Press has been great on this event. The Bangor Daily News ran the story as its no. 1 lead this morning. Excellent.

The Portland Press Herald (new reg. system, grrrrrr) also led with the story, and the Boston Globe carried it today!

I have prepared a podcast of the press event available at peacecast.us, where you can also read my own statement and testimony I gave before the Maine Legislature's Joint Standing Committee on Insurance and Financial Services.

The following is a Fact Sheet on the Anthem study and LD 1845 supplied by the Maine People's Alliance:

Call on Legislators to Support Dirigo Health and Universal Health Care for All Mainers!

Please call your Maine Legislators and ask them to support LD 1845: ``An Act to Increase Access to Health Insurance Products''

What does LD 1845 do?
· Allows the Dirigo Health Agency to cancel or not renew their contract with Anthem as the provider of DirigoChoice insurance, which would allow the state to create a nonprofit insurer or some other solution. An amendment to the bill would also permit other insurance producers to sell DirigoChoice.

Why is it important?
· DirgoChoice is an insurance product offered under the Dirigo Health Reform Act in the State of Maine and is an affordable, comprehensive option for individuals and small businesses in Maine. Over 8,000 people have enrolled in the plan. But while Dirigo Health has provided affordable, comprehensive insurance for over 8,000 Mainers and saved over $43 million, many in the state are still uninsured.

· Throughout it’s implementation, Anthem has not been fully supportive of Dirigo Health. With other insurers, they are currently suing the state over the Savings Offset Payment, a recapturing of Dirigo’s savings that would enable more low-income people to enroll in the DirigoChoice program.

· There is reason to believe that Anthem has not been selling the DirigoChoice insurance product as aggressively as they could be, which may have prevented more Mainers from enrolling.

Why might a Maine-based solution be better?
· Anthem and parent company Wellpoint are based in Indiana. Anthem continually raises rates and reports record profits while Mainers are under-insured and uninsured. Anthem’s CEO, Larry Glasscock, received a salary of $1 million and a bonus of over $42.5 million in 2004. Out-of-state, for-profit insurers place their own financial interests above the health of the Maine people. Because Anthem has a financial interest in the structure of Maine’s healthcare system, they may not be fully supportive of all of Dirigo Health’s goals.

· A non-profit insurer would not have a CEO making multi-million dollar bonuses while raising rates for average Mainers. It would have the interest of Maine citizens at heart.

· The state needs the assurance that the agency selling DirigoChoice truly stands behind the program. Thousands more Mainers could benefit from the DirigoChoice program, and they deserve the chance to enroll. The state needs the freedom to ensure that the DirigoChoice product is being offered to anyone who needs it.

Call your State Legislators and ask them to support LD 1845 for Health Care for All!
· The phone line to leave a message for your State Representative is 1-800-423-2900 and the line for your State Senator is 1-800-423-6900...