At 5, Dirigo Health finds numbers fall short

AUGUSTA – Five years after Gov. John Baldacci signed into law a bill creating Dirigo Health, the state-sponsored health insurance program has yet to come close to its goal of covering a large share of Maine’s uninsured.

Although it aimed at covering 136,000 uninsured Mainers by 2009, Dirigo’s enrollment now totals only about 18,000 people, a third of whom are part of the Medicaid program.

Dirigo also faces cash flow problems that recently forced it to borrow $20 million from the state’s General Fund.

Enrollment in the program was capped last year because of a lack of funding. It has a waiting list of 1,300 people.

Dirigo’s fifth anniversary also coincides with the campaign on a November ballot question that asks voters to repeal a new tax on beer, wine and soda that would be used to help fund the program.

Critics say it’s time to shut the program down and try a new approach.

“Certainly the Dirigo Health Program was well-intentioned,” said Tarren Bragdon, executive director of the Maine Heritage Policy Center, a conservative think tank in Portland.

“Everyone wanted to cover the uninsured. In practice, it’s been an expensive failure.”

But supporters of Dirigo say its emphasis on quality, access and affordability has advanced efforts to provide health coverage.

“Even though we’re not making as much progress as we’d like, we’re doing better than many other states,” said Christopher St. John, executive director of the Maine Center for Economic Policy, a liberal group based in Augusta.

Despite Dirigo’s problems, those enrolled in the program say it has given them an affordable option.

Rick Hughes, 48, a diabetic, turned to Dirigo after he was laid off and lost his health insurance.

He now pays $400 a month and has a $2,500 deductible for coverage that includes prescription drugs.

“Even if you have to pay the full amount yourself, it’s still fairly decent insurance at a reasonable cost,” said Hughes, who runs a graphic and Web design business in Augusta.