LD 1845 next logical step for DirigoChoice

I’m one of the 9,734 individuals and the owner of one of the 2,288 small businesses currently insured by DirigoChoice insurance. Three hundred eighty-one of these individuals and 97 of these businesses are in Greater Bangor.

You need to know that an amended bill, LD 1845, An Act to Increase Access to Health Insurance Products, will be decided Monday or Tuesday. This bill would give the Dirigo Health Agency the option of “self-insuring” the DirigoChoice plan. It is a very good bill that should be passed, but it is threatened by political “gaming” in Augusta.

LD 1845, as amended, enables the Dirigo Health Board more options in contracting services for DirigoChoice. It does not make an insurance company of Dirigo health. It expands the board’s size and professional composition. It in-creases their control over marketing, sales and administration.

It maintains state consumer protections and ensures legislative oversight. It enables the possibility of significant savings from administrative costs, broker fees and profits that are currently lost to Anthem. It accomplishes all of these within existing monetary means.

Eighty-two percent of all American businesses and groups with 5,000 or more members are self-insured. The health plans of L.L. Bean, Cianbro and Maine’s state employees are a few examples. It makes very good business and political sense to enable this option for DirigoChoice. I encourage you to tell your senator to support LD 1845, as amended, to help expand high-quality affordable health care to thousands more Maine people.

Everyone recognizes the unaffordable price of health insurance. It affects jobs, wages, taxes and the cost of virtually all public and private goods and services. Prior to Dirigo, my premiums doubled between 2001 and 2003. The impact on my employees and their families, my customers and my community moved me to investigate.

I learned that the main reason premiums are unaffordable is that health care services are unaffordable. All of Maine’s consumer protections – combined – add only 3.5 – 8.5 percent to insurance premiums. When adjusted for our population and our health, Maine’s average costs are still higher than the average in the rest of the nation. That Maine needlessly has eight times more MRI machines than New Hampshire indicates some of the real problem.

I also learned that there’s more to the health care crisis than costs: 46 million people are uninsured, many millions more are under-insured, and the quality of care varies unacceptably.

The Dirigo Health Reform Plan addresses the cost, quality and access “dimensions” of the heath care crisis together, as recommended by the Institute of Medicine. Yet, some treat the reform as though it’s all about insurance, and have made a political “football” of DirigoChoice.

The Dirigo Health Reform is a long-term plan still in its infancy. It has begun to control the costs and the variations in quality of Maine’s health care. DirigoChoice is the most successful start-up health insurance in Maine – ever.

Its public-private partnership was designed to evolve to help achieve universal coverage. LD 1845 is the next logical step for DirigoChoice.

Tell your senator to stop the political game and support LD 1845 as amended.

David A. White owns MDI Imported Car Service and can be reached at importedcarsvc@acadia.net. He is spokesperson for the 1,600 small business members of the Maine People’s Alliance