Maine Health Insurance

Health Insurance Open Enrollment Tips

ruzik_tuzik — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 02:26:10 -0500

Many Mainers have more than just candidates to choose from at this time of year. For employees in companies that offer a health insurance benefit, November is usually the time of the year when they have to choose among a variety of health insurance plan options to go into effect in 2009.

Many Maine companies offer between two and eight choices of health insurance plans. The options will usually have different costs to the employee both in the amount deducted from their paycheck and the total cost of the coverage for deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance over the course of the year.

Maine: Dirigo Tax Repeal Could Send Taxes Even Higher

hareyan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:00:29 -0500

The debate surrounding the funding mechanism for Dirigo Care, the Maine state government's attempt at providing "universal" health care, is not a new one.

Before the new law imposed taxes on health insurance claims and on goods such as beer, soda, wine, and tobacco (see "Maine Residents Angered by Expansion of Dirigo Health Care Subsidy," page 1), "offset payments" were used to fund the program. The complicated system was just as controversial as the new one.

Maine Residents Angered by Expansion of Dirigo Program Subsidy

hareyan — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:34:12 -0500

New taxes to support Dirigo Care, the Maine state government's attempt at providing "universal" health care, have so angered Maine residents that a coalition dedicated to repealing the tax increases was able to collect nearly twice as many signatures as required to put a repeal referendum on the state's ballot this November.

Dirigo Care is being funded by newly imposed taxes on health insurance claims, as well as on goods such as beer, soda, wine, and tobacco.

Tax Promises Broken

Maine Health Insurance Program Would Impose Surcharge On Beneficiary Claims

hareyan — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:38:29 -0500

Legislation being considered by Maine lawmakers would place a 1.8% fixed annual fee on claims paid by health insurers to help fund the state's DirigoChoice health insurance program.

Examining Progress Of Maine Health Care Initiative

hareyan — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:27:00 -0600

Report examines progress that Maine's Dirigo Health Reform Act, adopted in 2003, has made in making affordable health care coverage available to all state residents by 2009.