Study probes number of uninsured in Maine

AUGUSTA – A survey of early enrollees in Maine’s DirigoChoice confirms a need for the state-subsidized health insurance program, Dirigo officials said as they released survey results Monday.

A report by the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service is based on interviews between March and June with 1,564 people who had signed up for coverage through DirigoChoice, a private-public program that provides comprehensive health care coverage at discounted rates.

Thirty-eight percent of those surveyed were uninsured, had been uninsured some time during the past year or had only temporary coverage, according to the study, which was commissioned to get a better idea of who enrolled in DirigoChoice during its first three months when it was available to small businesses and sole proprietors.

The study also says dependents of DirigoChoice enrollees were more likely to have coverage, possibly through MaineCare and the state Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Currently, 8,100 Mainers receive health coverage through DirigoChoice, provided through Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. More than 3,000 individuals and sole proprietors are now on a waiting list for DirigoChoice, said Trish Riley, director of the Governor’s Office of Health Policy and Finance.

Individuals and sole proprietors may sign up again in November for coverage Jan. 1, 2006, riley said.

Before DirigoChoice, most enrollees with incomes below $18,620 had been paying about 25 percent of their annual incomes for health care coverage. But those people would have been hard pressed to pay deductibles of $2,500 if they had been hospitalized, said Dr. Robert McAfee, chairman of the Dirigo Health Agency Board of Directors.

“That may help explain why so much bad debt and charity care is provided to people who say they have health insurance,” McAfee said. It also shows that many people now have insurance “in name only,” he said.

Most of those who enrolled in DirigoChoice found out about it through the newspaper, radio or television. While many were pleased with the costs and coverage, many expressed concern about the sustainability of the program.

DirigoChoice has drawn criticism from some state legislators and from the Maine Heritage Policy Center, which says the state should be addressing the causes of high health insurance premiums rather than expanding a state subsidized program.

The conservative organization’s “Dirigo Watch” online Web page questions the financial underpinnings and public interest in the program.

McAfee urged critics “to give Dirigo a chance,” adding that the attacks cause uncertainty in the market. He said DirigoChoice is “here to stay.”