The amended version of LD 1333 was passed late Thursday night by the Maine House of Representatives.  The Senate adjourned before a vote on final passage was taken, so the final vote on LD 1333 as amended will not be until Monday, May 16th.  Despite what supporters of the bill may say, this bill will likely lead to higher insurance rates for most of Maine, especially for older Mainers and those who live in rural areas.  

Even though LD 1333 has been "amended" the bill STILL goes too far in its assault on Maine's health care consumer protections:  

Health insurance rates will increase for older Mainers and residents and businesses in rural communities.  For example, our friends at MECEP released their own analysis based upon a 2011 analysis by the Maine Bureau of Insurance and Gorman Actuarial showing that under the proposed amendments to LD 1333 private insurance rates for people 55 and older who live in Down East Maine (Washington and Hancock counties) could increase by 22%, or up to 44% when all of the laws provisions are fully implemented.  The North and North Central areas of Maine will also see significant double-digit increases.  Arguments that they will do otherwise hinge on bold assumptions and unsubstantiated claims about how the many provisions of this bill will work. 

Rural people and rural communities will be left behind. Gutting provisions that ensure comparable compensation for care close to home will undermine rural residents' access to care while also hurting doctors and local hospitals. When combined with increasing rates for people and businesses based in rural Maine, these changes will further burden rural economies struggling to recover from the Great Recession.

Insurers will have more control at the expense of rural Mainers. Under the amendments to LD 1333 passed by the Maine Senate on Wednesday, insurance companies can still push rural Mainers to travel longer distances for care.  Rather than give rural consumers more choices, LD 1333 puts more power and profits in the hands of health Insurance companies.