What Others Are Saying                                                                                        

"I believe the health insurance in Maine is broken - from the state Mainecare program to the individual insurance market. I have been an individual health insurance policy holder in Maine for 14 months. First of all it was very difficult to find a policy that met my needs and there was absolutely no competitive market to keep costs down. I have already seen a large and a small rate increase as well as a proposed rate increase of over $100/month in my family plan in only 14 months! This is on a high deductible plan which means I am already paying high costs towards medical claims on top of the premiums. I am a physician and am in a position to see the medical and the consumer side of the situation. Yes, medical costs are skyrocketing - largely because of medical liability and newer, expensive testing and medications. Action needs to be taken in the form of medical liability reform as well. Right now the state of Maine has a terrible healthcare system. The Mainecare program is not paying hospitals or providers. The program pays for unlimited visits to the emergency department for its members, which is hugely expensive and promotes accessing more expensive avenues to health services (ER vs. primary care physician). Mainecare has on drug formulary medications costing 20-30% more than their generic alternative which work as well as if not better than the medications they cover. While the Mainecare program is wasting Maine taxpayers' hard-earned dollars, the people who purchase their own health insurance are paying premiums which continue to soar higher. Maine needs complete restructuring of the entire healthcare system to help reduce the soaring insurance premiums. I am afraid if our current situation continues that I will not be able to find insurance for my family in a few years or will be paying dearly for it. The way to make change is for everyone to speak out now! We cannot afford to wait!" - (permission not given to use name)

"I am a single, healthy 44 year old with my own business; I have no employees. I earn a decent wage and have no debt other than my mortgage, and I am on the verge of not being able to afford health insurance, even with the highest deductible plan. I tried the Dirigo plan for one year; I did not qualify for any discount whatsoever, so I was paying the highest premium and had the highest deductible, and the end result was that it actually cost a little more for the Dirigo plan than it would have for an individual policy. I may as well cancel my plan and if something catastrophic happens, I'll just apply for MaineCare and then the state can foot the whole bill for all of my medical care...how's that sound to you?" - Carla

"I am in my mid-fifties, single, no dependents and employed. We are not offered health insurance through my employer. We do get a cash allowance that we can use toward purchasing insurance, but it is not even enough to cover my premium with a $10,000 deductible. I do not dare go without insurance as I am a cancer survivor. At the time I was diagnosed, I did not have health insurance and in addition to surgery I also had to have radiation. Fortunately, I am very healthy now, so I don't often need to visit a doctor, which is good because I would not be able to afford it. But that is a different issue." - Janice

"My brother lived in Maine. He loved it. Low crime, great outdoor activities, great people for the most part . He left due to high taxes and high health insurance. I'ts a shame because I loved visiting him. It's a beautiful state. I'd love to move my family there. However, high income taxes along with the exorbitant health care costs make it financially unfeasible for us to do so. Please do something. It's a great state, just too much of a tax and health insurance burden for alot of middle class people. Thanks." - Chris

" I am 61 years old and on a fixed income. The only health insurance available to me that I can even come close to affording is Anthem's individual insurance at $15,000 deductible. At this high deductible it's not even really health insurance, since I still have to pay ALL my health costs out of pocket over and above these premiums! Currently this "coverage" costs me $162 per month or almost $2,000 per year just to protect myself against medically induced bankruptcy. At the current rate of yearly increase, these premiums, which cover nothing for me, will cost me over $300 per month or over $4,000 per year by the time I am 64!! Why are people already paying 100% of their health care costs further burdened year after year with skyrocketing insurance premiums as well?? If Maine's lawmakers don't make a stand for us now, even more of Maine's people will be forced into the swelling ranks of the uninsured. Please give us some relief before it's too late! " - Rita

"I am 61 years old and on a fixed income. The only health insurance availagle to me that I can even come close to affording is Anthem's individual insurance at $15,000 deductable. At this high deductable it's not even really health insurance, since I still have to pay ALL my health costs out of pocket over and above these premiums! Currently this "coverage" costs me $162 per month or almost $2,000 per year just to protect myself against medically induced bankruptcy. At the current rate of yearly incease, these premiums, which cover nothing for me, will cost me over $300 per month or over $4,000 per year by the time I am 64!! Why are people already paying 100% of their health care costs further burdened year after year with skyrocketing insurance premiums as well?? If Maine's lawmakers don't make a stand for us now, even more of Maine's people will be forced into the swelling ranks of the uninsured. Please give us some relief before it's too late!" - (permission to use name not given)

"Both my husband and I are self employed, real estate and construction. We carry long term health care insurance, and are facing retirement in a few years but with the increase in health care costs we may have to move out of the state. The higher deductibles will put our home at risk should we ever get actually sick. We no longer think of preventative care because of the costs and that is a foolish mistake on the part of the insurance industry." - Margaret

"Health Insurance in Maine, is, well quite frankly a joke. It's so out of reach for hard working Mainers that many, like myself opt for a $15,000 deductible and hope nothing too serious goes wrong with my health or my family members. The state legislature should be ashamed of themselves for lacking the political will to fix this problem. If we lived 45 minutes away in New Hampshire, I could obtain the same coverage for less. Dramatically less. Frankly Mainers really deserve their low incomes as they ask for it. They really do. They pay thru the nose for Health insurance where, in reality, with reform, they could get the same coverage for less and put their money to work somewhere else." - Chris

"I am just a typical small business owner with a wife and two young kids. I am not an actuary but understand risk. I am willing to pay for the incidentals and believe everyone should. I do not want the healthcare equivalent of the DMV. If the legislators would represent the people via supporting the free market things would be better. I will join Dirigo Health when the Governor, State Workers, and the Legislators join! After all the Leaders shoul lead by example! Do not reinvent the wheel put a functioning wheel in place! Keep Politics out of people healthcare! " - Jason

"From 1970's to around 1990 I owned several commercial insurance agencies in Maine. The Maine legislature for political reasons manipulated the worker's compensation insurance system in Maine and ultimately drove insurers from the state. The existing system was flawed but not broken. Some of the flaws were changed and an entirely new workers compensation system was installed that works somewhat, albeit not perfectly. What is missing is any real choice for the employer and the result is service for the injured worker is defined by the people who are paying for that service. It is an awful lot like the fox watching the chicken coop. Now we have the same, only far worse situation in the health insurance marketplace. The legislature, for political reasons, has manipulated the laws making it impossible for insurers to underwrite Maine people's health care needs. The result is that all companies have left the state and only one carrier remains. Once again this is like the fox watching the chicken coop. Only this time instead of merely rolling over and paying higher and higher premiums, the "chickens" are going without. Thus the "pool" of chickens, or insureds gets smaller and smaller, and the entire system of providing funding for increasing health care costs is spiraling out of control. There are political factions who would like there to be a single payor, state controlled health system in Maine. That is the ultimate goal of certain political factions, hence we have the feeble, and horrifically flawed Dirigo Health Plan. What politicians and many people in Maine don't seem to understand is that Maine has only 1.2 million people and there simply are not enough paying bodies in Maine to muscle the laws of large numbers, which are what determine the success or failure of insurance underwriting to begin with. In the end, what the Maine legislature has accomplished is to create a market of adverse selection, in which the cost of insurance continues to rise at least as rapidly as the cost of the services that it is supposed to serve. No insurance company can long survive in that environment. The only solution to the health insurance crisis is to revise laws so that the competitive market place in both group health and individual health insurance will return to Maine. Maine people...both individuals and businesses...will then have options and the cost of health insurance will decline. A part of this revision will need to be a subsidized pool for the poorest and the sickest among us, and it is imperative that we develop and fund a mechanism that will provide not only for the wealthy and well, but the poor and sick. Any other solution is dereliction to the duties of our employees, the ligislators whom we elect and who serve at our pleasure and direction. " - Roger

"This story will be short and simple. I am done following this flock. We are one of the families paying up to $5000 per year with a $15,000 deductible. Our premiums have gone up consistently over the years 10 to be exact. We have yet to use this coverage. I consider my family uninsured, however I am sorry to say I pay for it. I think my husband and I are ready to take our chances of a catastrophic event happening. If one does I will pay accordingly as I have been doing over the years with various medical cost. . I can't think of a reason to keep a policy such as this one being offered to us. " - Donna

"My husband & I are self-employed. I have a part-time job that does not offer health insurance. We have 2 children, one in college. We are not poverty level, but we barely make ends meet at times. We are a healthy family, & do all the things to maintain our health proactively. We don't run to the doctor for every little thing. The $15,000.00 deductible policy that we pay almost $400.00 for every month is ridiculous. I pay out of pocket for all medical & dental expenses, which can mount up & often seem overpriced for what we have done, even with a discount. We cannot afford a better policy. Dirigo was too expensive, & they only had a $1,500 deductible. We feel like dropping Anthem's policy, especially now that it is going to go up again most likely. But then we will be one banana peel away from a bigger disaster than with a $15,000 deductible. It's like this huge weight hanging over our heads all the time. " - Connie

"I am 61 and have been working as a freelance indexer since 1998. I've always had medical insurance, paying for it myself when I wasn't covered by my employer. During the last ten or eleven years working for myself I've made the most in yearly income since I started working in 1968. The yearly gross fluctuates, but I usually bring in between 22,000 and 27,000 per year. I find it increasingly hard to afford this insurance and with this next increase, I finally cannot cover myself. I need to find out about a health savings account. I have been maintaining an individual plan with a $5,000 deductible. I appreciated very much learning about the reasons that medical insurance premiums are so insanely high in this state. I think it's a crime on the part of Maine's legislature and governors to let the medical insurance laws play this type of havoc with the working folks... self-employed people like me. I want to be informed of the progress of these laws in the legislature (the laws to reform the way medical insurance coverage works in this state) and I'd like to contact the individuals sponsoring these laws. Or, you can send this email message to them. Once I find out about the titles of the laws I'll contact my state representatives to the legislature to let them know I want them to support them for passage. " - (permission not given to use name)

"My spouse and I have separate businesses in DE Maine and we have to buy our own individual insurance. It is simple arithmetic. Our income is $60,000/yr. From that we pay $10,000 in premiums and we owe an additional $10,000 in hospital bills for 2006-2007. That leaves me $40,000 to pay bills, food, car, retirement, kid's college, etc. There is simply not enough money to be made in Washington County to pay for this level of medical care/insurance in addition to paying bills, saving for retirement and college for the kids. If something does not change soon I will have to move my business out of Washington County and possibly the state of Maine. It is unjust that the individual market payers have to bare the brunt for everyone else. Please fix the system" - David

"Our rates keep rising even though we keep raising our deductibles. We are at the point of only having coverage if we each spend time in a hospital for an extended visit. All the rest we are solely responsible and we got word today that our rate is again rising 18% (the second rate increase this year! ) We will have spent about $16,000 for insurance and medical services this year and that is way beyond what our budget will afford. We have had to reach deep into our savings to cover it. With continued costs such as these, we won't have any savings left to draw from." - Amy

"My husband is self employed and we are individual policy holders. We have just recently had to change our deductible to $15,000. We are struggling and outraged at the cost of our health insurance. We live near the border of N.H. and may be forced to sell our home and move across the border. My presidential vote next year will be based on affordable health insurance for all Americans. I feel the legislator of the State of Maine is helping the exit of hard working people from this state. " - Judy

"My husband and I are small business owners. We also are holders of an individual policy for ourselves and child. As a small business, we have found it prohibitive to provide a company policy to our employees. If we were to provide a comprehensive policy, we would positively be out of business. Our last estimate was over $1,200 per month per employee. In a price competitive market, we cannot compete with other companies that have much lower rates (all states except NJ). We have instead, chosen to facilitate the purchase of individual policies with high deductibles for our employees, identical the policy we carry for ourselves. We encourage them to apply and we reimburse them for their monthly premium. It's a work around that at least lets our employees have a policy that would prevent them from ending up in the poor house in the event of a catastrophic medical event. In the future, as we look to retirement, we will move from Maine as we will be unable in our early years of retirement to afford medical insurance in Maine. Imagine trying to pay $12,000 per year until Medicare kicks in (quite a few years for me). We could pay 1/2 that just be leaving the state. Combine that with one of the highest tax burdens in the country – who can afford to stay? Maine is doing everything it can to drive out its entrepreneurs and its young people. The only thing that will be left is the very rich or those too poor to find a way out." - Deni

"I am a 63 year old woman in reasonable health. I have a $10,000.00 deductible on my policy, as it is the best that I can afford. I am also a business owner. One of my greatest desires is to provide health insurance in addition to Worker's Comp to our employees. I can't. After I have paid for my own health insurance premiums, there is no money left over – and apparently, "the system" wants to drive us out of business so that none of us can afford health insurance, including the employees that I value. Yes, fix the system, PLEASE!" - Michele

"Like so many others in Maine, my husband and I are self-employed and have been for over 30 years. Consequently, we are part of the "individual insurance market." We enrolled in Anthem's Health Choice years ago. We carry a $5,000 deductible (a total of $10,000 per year) and have had to pay that total amount out of pocket more than once. When we first obtained Health Choice with the $5,000 deductible, it was a little over $300 a month for both of us. It is now well over $700. The new proposed rates will add over $100 to that. We certainly have not been able to raise our fees for services at those rates. While we strongly believe in the importance of health insurance coverage, at these rates of increase we may well be forced to join the ranks of the uninsured. We simply will have no choice. Dirigo is not an option. Dirigo is a total failure. Dirigo is not “affordable.” It is time Maine legislators change the laws and make individual insurance policies affordable for the many self employed people of Maine." - Cheryl

"When my husband sold his company, in 1999, I lost my health coverage. At that time we both had Blue Cross low deductible coverage, for about $350 a month. He is now eligible for Medicare, but I'm 10 years younger than he and I won't be eligible for 6 more years. I went from 80% coverage of everything to no insurance, in the same calendar year! I started individual coverage, in 2003 with the $5,000 deductible and I'm now at $15,000 deductible to be able to afford any kind of insurance at all. My monthly rate is going up to almost $200 in January of 2008. I'm not sure that at the current pace the rates are rising that I can afford to hold onto my insurance until I'm 65. Just a couple of years ago I was paying $135 a month for the same insurance for which I now will pay $190+." - Linda

"I am self-employed with a family of four, including two young children. Currently, my family is covered with a $15K deductible which means most of my medical expenses are out-of-pocket. Year after year my premium has increased and, besides dropping insurance altogether, I have no other options. I feel as though I am trapped. Many of my friends are also self-employed and cannot afford health insurance of any kind. I have begun to seriously think about leaving Maine, knowing the problem is going to continue to worsen. If something is not done soon, Maine's economy is going to be impacted in a way that will take decades to recover from." - Justin