(Augusta)
The Steering Committee of the Health Care for Maine (HC4ME) Alliance
held a conference today at the Maple Hill Farm in Hallowell. The
conference was split into two halves. During the morning sessions
Steering Committee members - which consist of AARP, American Cancer
Society, Consumers for Affordable Health Care, Maine Center for
Economic Policy, Maine Equal Justice Partners, Maine Medical
Association, Maine Parent Federation, Maine People's Alliance, and
Maine People's Resource Center - updated current HC4ME endorsing
organizations and prospective endorsers of health care issues and
legislation at the state and federal levels.
"At
a time when implementation of the Affordable Care Act is moving at a
rapid pace, it is critical that we have an alliance as broad as HC4ME
to ensure that policymakers hear from all constituencies" said
Consumers for Affordable Health Care Policy Director Mitchell Stein.
Wendell
Potter, a former top communications executive who worked at insurance
company giant CIGNA for over twenty years, gave the keynote address
to the crowd of over fifty attendees, including advocates, providers,
and policymakers. Mr. Potter told the story of the hypothetical
Johnson family and their struggles with the insurance industry prior
to passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including having one
child be denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition and another
who is not offered insurance by their employer but is under the age
of twenty-six. He then went on to dispel a number of the myths and
misconceptions of what is actually in the ACA and who can benefit
from its provisions. Each member of Mr. Potter's Johnson family
somehow benefitted from passage of the ACA, from the two children now
being able to receive coverage to their grandparents receiving $250
checks to help close their prescription drug doughnut hole.
"Attempting
to set the record straight on the benefits of the ACA for consumers,
and defending consumer protections that are being threatened at the
state level will take the efforts of everyone involved with HC4ME,
whether they're steering committee members, endorsing organizations,
or groups that have an interest in a particular issue area,"
said Maine Medical Association Executive Vice President Gordon Smith.
The
Steering Committee of HC4ME has been meeting for a year. The HC4ME
Steering Committee was a vocal advocate on behalf of consumers at the
State House during the first session of the 125th State Legislature,
often testifying before the Committees on Insurance and Financial
Services (IFS), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Appropriations
and Financial Affairs (AFA) for legislation that would maintain or
increase consumer protections and against legislation that repealed
most of the protections passed in the last twenty years.
Among
the top priorities of HC4ME in the coming months will be to submit
comments on the formation of the state health insurance exchange and
to educate the public on the adverse effects Public Law, Chapter 90
will have on small business owners with older workforces, workers who
have dangerous professions like fishermen or loggers, and people
living in rural areas.
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