|
|
Call Your Legislators! Tell
them "We Need a Health Care Bill of
Rights!" |
Dear Jaime,
We need your
help. A bill, LD 1205--the
so-called "Health Care Bill of Rights,"
sponsored by Representative Sharon Treat, will
likely be considered by the Maine Legislature
this week.
We'd like you to join
us in telling your legislators why this bill is so
important to you and the people of Maine. Find your
legislators' contact information here.
Use the talking point below to
help you discuss the importance of the
"Health Care Bill of Rights" with your
legislators.
| |
 TALKING
POINTS
-
If we're ever to save money on health
care and cut the skyrocketing health care costs
of our state we need to know what we're paying
for. As things stand right now, a lot of
the information is unavailable that would help
people (health care consumers) make better, more
cost-effective health care decision for their
families.
-
Health care consumers are consistently
blamed by insurance companies, hospitals and
providers for the rising health care costs Maine
and the nation are facing, yet they are not
giving consumers the information we need to make
better more cost effective health care
decisions. If insurers gave us
more information then we would be able to spend
our health care dollars more
wisely.
-
While our state doesn't have the money
right now to increase access to health care and
coverage for all of the people who need it,
there are some important changes we can make in
our laws that will help control our skyrocketing
health care costs while increasing the quality
of care we receive. The savings from those
changes could then be used to increase access to
care and coverage to those who need it.
All it will take is insurance companies
giving people more of the information (being
more transparent) we need to make informed,
cost-effective decisions for our
families.
-
If insurance companies start
giving us all of the information we are asking
for, millions of dollars could be saved in Maine
each year. The savings could then go
toward coverage for Maine's 125,000 uninsured
and the thousands of other "underinsured" who
have insurance that costs so much out of pocket
they can't afford to use it. It could also help
lower rates and improve our entire health care
system.
|
ABOUT HEALTH
CARE BILL OF RIGHTS
The bill calls for insurers
to give us more information so that we can
make better choices for ourselves and
our families.
- Have you wanted to
compare which insurance plan would be best
for you, but couldn't get the
information from the insurance companies to
do so?
- Have you thought that
something was covered, and
then gotten a bill after the fact
because it wasn't actually covered in your
plan?
- Do you have a hard time
understanding the information you get from your
insurance company?
- Have your insurance
costs gone through the roof ,
but you can't get an explanation
why or an opportunity to do anything
about it ?
- Have you wondered how much of
your premium goes toward actual medical
care?
If you answered "yes" to any of
these, then you need to let your legislators know they need to support LD
1205. This bill asks insurance
companies to address these questions and
more. If you'd like to read
more about the bill click here.
As health care
consumers, we are the ultimate payers of all
health care and coverage bills. We should
have the right to the information that will allow
us to make better health care decisions and spend
our money more wisely!
Thank you for your help in
achieving quality, affordable health care for all
Maine people!
| |
| |
