Panel aims to raise health care awareness

AUGUSTA – Lawmakers on the Health and Human Services Committee tabled two proposals Wednesday aimed at improving access to health services for low-income Mainers. Instead of endorsing either measure, committee members agreed to form an ad hoc study group to identify ways to teach Maine residents how to take advantage of existing opportunities.

One bill, LD 520, would have required the state to provide all MaineCare providers with incentives to serve more patients and clients enrolled in the program. The incentives might have included increased reimbursement rates or other unspecified options.

MaineCare is the state’s name for the Medicaid program, providing a range of health and social services to enrollees. About one in every five Maine residents is enrolled in MaineCare, but many providers don’t accept the program’s low reimbursement rates.

The other bill, LD 551, would have created a new program for families and individuals who make too much to qualify for MaineCare but not enough to pay for private health insurance. The measure would have capped the amount any provider could bill these individuals at the same rate the state pays through the MaineCare program. It also would have capped the price of their prescription drugs at the MaineCare rate.

In their discussion, committee members characterized both measures as flawed attempts to address the very real problem of individuals and families who fall through the health care cracks. They agreed that any recommendation to increase across-the-board MaineCare reimbursements would be doomed in the state’s current fiscal climate.

Rep. Gary Connor, D-Kennebunk, pointed out that those who lack any coverage at all are typically charged the highest rates for health care services.

“These people pay a premium no one else has to pay, just because they don’t have insurance,” he said.

Rep. Robert Walker, R-Lincolnville, called the attempt to cap charges “a laudable goal with unintended consequences.” Rep. Sarah Lewin, R-Eliot, called it “price-setting.”

Rep. Anne Perry, D-Calais, who co-chairs the committee, pointed out that many Mainers may be unaware of sliding-scale fees at hospitals and clinics, and that they also may not know about Maine’s several prescription drug discount programs.

In lieu of recommending passage of “overly simplistic” measures that can’t solve Maine’s complex health care problem, Perry volunteered to organize a small ad hoc group to study existing programs that offer lower rates to low-income Mainers. The group will compile recommendations to the Department of Health and Human Services for raising public awareness of these programs. The recommendations will be presented to the Health and Human Services Committee for approval at its meeting on April 4.