AUGUSTA – The Baldacci administration has given insurance companies five weeks to submit bids to carry a new Dirigo Health Plan.

Officials say the plan has been designed to provide normal features covering hospitalization, doctor visits and prescription medications, but will also include discounts on monthly costs, deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.

Coverage of preventive services is set at 100 percent. A HealthyME Rewards Program would offer $100 to members who meet health improvement goals.

“We’ve spoken with numerous carriers, both in state and out of state, over the last few months,” the executive director of the Dirigo Health Agency, Thomas Dunne, said in a statement issued this weekend. “We are encouraged by their interest and look forward to a competitive bidding process.”

The bid solicitation offers details on the enrollment costs, benefits and discount structures approved by the Dirigo Health board of directors in March.

A bidders’ conference to allow interested parties to ask questions about the request for proposal is scheduled for May 17, with a deadline for bids set for June 11.

“This is a major step in the implementation of Dirigo Health and brings us one step closer to offering an affordable and quality health plan to Maine’s small businesses, the self-employed and individuals,” Gov. John Baldacci said.

“The Dirigo Health Agency and board of directors, with support from my Office of Health Policy and Finance and the Department of Human Services, have done an incredible amount of good and hard work to present a thorough and detailed RFP.”

Officials said participants in the development of the health plan and bid solicitation include Mercer Consulting, the actuarial firm Watson Wyatt, Mathematica Policy Research, and the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service.

Maine’s fledgling program to promote health coverage through private insurers at rates subsidized by the state and participating employers is being watched closely.

Baldacci made universal coverage a cornerstone of his 2002 campaign and likens the state effort to a previous drive to bring down workers’ compensation costs.

“The Dirigo Health Plan is one piece of the greater Dirigo Health reform initiative,” Trish Riley, director of the Governor’s Office of Health Policy and Finance, said in the administration’s statement.

“Controlling health care costs, improving quality and covering the uninsured are what Dirigo Health is about. It’s about creating a sustainable health care system here in Maine,” Riley said. “Once insurers submit their bids and one carrier is chosen, we can begin this summer to provide affordable coverage to small businesses, the self-employed and Maine’s uninsured.”