"Mainers for Health Care"
News Release

Mainers for Health Care Urge Maine Legislature
To Support and Expand
Dirigo Health Program Now!

Testimony Documents That DirigoChoice Is Covering Uninsured and Underinsured Individuals and Businesses and Those Companies Ready to Drop Coverage;
"Free Market" Alternatives Are Not Working

Mainers for Health Care, a new alliance of Labor Unions, Consumer organizations, Employers, Faith-based organizations and Providers, held a news conference at 2 PM today at the State House to urge the Legislature to support the growth and expansion of Dirigo Health coverage. Dozens of supporters from labor organizations and consumer groups filled the Hall of Flags to make their case that "free market" alternatives to Dirigo Health are not working and with proposed layoffs at shipyards in Maine and New Hampshire, the Maine Legislature must act now to protect individuals and families from financial ruin due to high health care costs. They urged Legislators to expand Dirigo Health's health insurance product called DirigoChoice. According to experts in the insurance field, DirigoChoice is the fastest growing health coverage in Maine's history. With over 6,366 people enrolled since January 1st, it is Maine's most successful insurance product offering ever.

Barbara Weiss, a 43 year old Augusta resident said "I live with my husband and our two children. I have come today in support of removing the enrollment caps on individuals eligible for DirigoChoice. I work part-time and attend Kennebec Valley Community College and my husband works in the restaurant business. Despite our two-family income, our family is uninsured. We simply cannot afford to pay the high costs of health insurance premiums. Even when we did have coverage our family ran into difficulties. That is because we were underinsured. It was a plan that had high deductibles and very limited coverage. When one of my sons was born he got a staph infection in the hospital. Treating the infection ended up costing our family $7,000. We paid the hospital $30 a month, and after ten years, we paid the debt off. And that was with health insurance "coverage." That is the reason why I am here today. I want to urge Maine's lawmakers to remove the enrollment caps for DirigoChoice, and allow more families like ours the opportunity to be part of the program. We are not looking for a free handout. My husband and I work hard and are more
than willing to pay our fair share. But we want health insurance that is affordable given our income, and coverage that is comprehensive and there, when you need it."

Charles Finn, International Association of Machinists Local S6 in Bath said "Thousands of workers and their families are faced with the possibility of losing jobs and their health coverage in Maine and New Hampshire. If that happens, and we hope -- and will work hard to make sure -- it doesn't, these people will be uninsured. These workers and their families will need health coverage. Some will need coverage as individuals, sole proprietors or as small businesses as their lives and jobs change. So I strongly agree with the previous speaker, Mrs. Weiss, that Dirigo Health should require Anthem to remove the caps it negotiated on individual and sole proprietors. At some point, this coverage should be made available to larger businesses."

Gary C. Dyke, a Certified Public Accountant in Turner said "Prior to Dirigo Health, not only were my wife and I not insured, but I could not offer health insurance to my employees in our fast growing company. Health insurance was out of the question because no company offered a plan that did not exclude 'pre-existing conditions.' We couldn't afford to pay for insurance and the bills for those pre-existing conditions at the same time. DirigoChoice has worked, and is working, for this small business. It covers my wife and I and one employee. I am looking to hire two more people. I need to be able to offer health insurance to prospective employees and that wouldn't be possible without Dirigo."

Christie Bryant, a 55 year old nurse from Machias said "My husband owns his own small business and I work part time as a visiting nurse for Down East Health Services. We take care of our 12 year old grandson. My employer doesn't offer coverage and my husband's business cannot afford it. We had a $5000 deductible individual plan for $348 a month. But it didn't cover prescription drugs, annual exams or any primary, preventive or outpatient services until we paid over $5000 out of pocket. When my husband and I were turning 55 years old, the insurer wanted to increase the premium to $480 per month. That's when we found out about DirigoChoice. After we received a discount because of our income level, we're now paying $425 a month and are relieved that we have much more comprehensive coverage. With a young grandson, we feel we can take care of him and get the preventive care we need."

Cynthia Phinney, an organizer for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1837 in Manchester, Maine read the testimony of her friend, a business owner, Stanley Spilecki, whose business would have been crippled without Dirigo Health. Spilecki, President and Owner of River Valley Machinery Inc., East Livermore in a written statement said "Our company was formed in order to provide service for a line of heavy machinery used in the wood manufacturing industry. To provide this service, we needed to retain skilled labor with over a decade of knowledge in our field. This service is crucial to several hundred manufacturers throughout the country including many here in Maine. We were very aware of the promise of the Dirigo Health system. As DirigoChoice came on line, we signed up and have had a very positive experience. DirigoChoice allows us to consider further expansion of our workforce as we grow. We are also considering whether we can offer health coverage to our part-time as well as our full time employees. Without DirigoChoice we would have to seriously consider if we could offer health insurance at all and would have to severely limit the number of employees that would benefit."

Lisa Webber, Consumers for Affordable Health Care's HelpLine Manager in Augusta read the statement of a stay-at-home mother of two children, ages 2 and 4, and her husband, a self-employed fisherman, who live on his seasonal fishing income for the year. The family had called the Covering Kids and Families HelpLine at Consumers for Affordable Health Care (1-800-965-7476) for help. The family wished to remain anonymous. Ms. Webber read a prepared statement documenting their story, which is typical of island families. She said "They had private insurance, at a cost of $258.80/month. With a $5,000 per person deductible, it didn't cover much. For example, when she was pregnant, her prenatal and postnatal care was covered under an optional preventive care rider, but the child's birth and his subsequent jaundice, a common complication, were not. In fine print in an obscure area of the policy it does say that birth is not covered. They are currently paying off the $5,000 birth bill and the $3,000 jaundice bill. They did not qualify for free care, however they did receive some assistance. The billing office and nursing supervisor of Mount Desert Island Hospital worked jointly to itemize and verify all the charges, and reduced the total bill by approximately $800, leaving them with $8,000 to pay over time. They cannot afford to keep paying $258.80/mo for coverage that pays for close to nothing. She called the Covering Kids and Families HelpLine at Consumers for Affordable Health Care to see if their children qualified for low-cost MaineCare. She discovered they were just over the guidelines and it was suggested that maybe DirigoChoice would work for them. The family had already dismissed DirigoChoice as an option because the quote she was given by an Anthem producer was $780/mo for family coverage, and they obviously couldn't afford that. However, her husband has VA coverage, so she can enroll under individual coverage for herself and her two children. Based on their income, they would qualify for an 80% discount. The HelpLine representative helped her estimate the discount under DirigoChoice, and her rate calculated closer to somewhere between $85 to $125 per month (rates may vary 20% higher or lower than community rates). Not only is DirigoChoice's premium more affordable but the family deductible is only $500 - not $5,000 per person. Moreover, it covers more services including well-child care, inpatient and outpatient services, full maternity care, and prescription drugs. The family called Anthem right away to sign up and were placed on a waiting list. They share their story today in hopes that it will help other families access affordable health care coverage and encourage decision makers to raise or lift the cap on enrollment for individuals."

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