Mainers need affordable healthcare in 2021

We’re now a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, and Mainers are still hurting. Healthcare costs continue to skyrocket and it's even harder to access than it was before. Currently, one in 12 Mainers lacks health care entirely, and one in five Maine adults can’t afford a $400 emergency.

We have to do better. There are multiple solutions that our leaders can utilize to help solve the dwindling availability of quality, affordable healthcare.

• Continuing the Health Insurance Assessment at the state level: If Maine were to reinstate the Health Insurance Assessment at the state level, it could generate more than $30 million in revenue that otherwise would be pocketed by insurance companies. This money can be used for COVID-19 relief.
  

• Creating a statewide Health Care Affordability Board: This board would collect data and diagnose problems in our healthcare system to help us properly fund solutions. This could curb surprise medical bills and make treatment for COVID-19 and other health issues more accessible for lower-income Mainers.
  

• Capping prescription drug prices in Maine: Maine can regulate the cost of life-saving prescription drugs and deter price gouging by Big Pharma to make medication more affordable.

While ongoing vaccine distribution brings us closer to the light at the end of the tunnel, Maine will feel the virus’s impact for years to come. We need to do all we can to make healthcare affordable and accessible for all Mainers in order to meet these challenges.

For more information on these policies, visit our Health Care page.

"There are families who really need help" | Mainers need Paid Family & Medical Leave

For years, Mainers have been forced to make impossible decisions - to take unpaid time off to care for their loved ones, or to continue to work so they can pay their rent or put food on the table. This crisis was not brought on by COVID-19, but it’s only gotten worse.

We wanted to hear from our neighbors directly to see what this policy would mean for them, so we made hundreds of phone calls across the state. We spoke to Sandra, who knows just how hard it can be for families struggling to stay afloat – because she lived it. Watch the video to hear Sandra’s story.

“I’m a senior, but I’ve been in a situation growing up where we had no food and could barely afford to pay rent,” said Sandra. “I think during this awful COVID-19 season, there are families [who] really need help. They need Paid Family Leave.”

A statewide Paid Family & Medical Leave policy would give our working families the security to take care of themselves when they’re ill, without risking the income they need to survive.

Working families are the backbone of our communities and workplaces – when they are healthy, our communities and workplaces are healthy, too.

Right now, our current policy that’s in place is simply not enough. Sandra is right: we need Paid Family & Medical Leave.

For affordable & quality healthcare, Maine must continue the Health Insurance Assessment

There is a simple solution for Maine leaders to make healthcare more affordable for working families – all it takes is continuing a small fee to big, for-profit health insurance companies; a fee they've been paying since 2014.

By ending the federal health insurance assessment (HIA), former President Trump ensured that the for-profit insurance companies scored big – their profits soared while Mainers continued to suffer under high healthcare costs during this pandemic.

But Maine has the option to continue it on the state level, which gives us control over where that revenue is needed most. Click here to read Dr. Rocco Ciocca’s article on how the HIA could make healthcare more affordable.

Several states are already choosing to continue the federal HIA on a state level, which is generating millions in revenue that goes to expanding access to quality healthcare.

“The state-based assessment could help lower the cost of premiums, eliminate out-of-pocket costs and reduce prescription drug costs – all of which have increased,” wrote Dr. Ciocca. “Too many of my patients struggle to keep up with these rising healthcare costs as they’re outpacing wage growth.” Read the full article here.

If you agree that Maine's must do all it can to ensure that every one of us has access to comprehensive and affordable care, share this article on Facebook and Twitter.

Nearly 20 percent of Mainers couldn’t afford their medication before the COVID crisis, and more have gone without the care they need because the out-of-pocket costs and premiums were just too high.

Our state leaders and representatives are working hard to get us back on track – the best way to do that is to make sure that every Mainer can access affordable, quality healthcare. Continuing the HIA will help Maine do just that.