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Health Care Highlights from the 124th Legislature

We enacted an impressive package of health care reform bills this session that constitute a meaningful step towards improved public health, expanded access to care, reduced waste, redundancy and excess overhead.

Dirigo Funding: Now that Dirigo has a reliable source of funding, the program is in a position to provide more coverage to Maine people and Maine businesses. Providing an affordable health insurance option to Maine people and small businesses is an important step towards a healthier Maine

Menu Labeling, Childhood Obesity, PE4ME: These common sense measures will go along way towards reducing Maine staggering rate of obesity. By giving people more information about what they are eating, identifying the scope of the obesity epidemic and encouraging schools to give children more opportunities to be active we will dramatically reduce waistlines and the incidents of type II diabetes, heart disease and osteoarthritis which contribute significantly to the skyrocketing cost of health care and a decrease in people’s quality of life.

Certificate of Need, Health Info Net: Combined, these programs ensure that doctors have the tools they need to deliver the highest level of patient care without being burdened by excessive overhead. Making the latest technology available to patients guarantees they get the care they need and providing a full picture of a patients record will cut down on errors and increase efficiency. Both measures enhance the quality of patient care while simultaneously driving down cost.

Health Care Bill of Rights: In order to make informed decisions about their health, patients need to know what their insurance will cover and what it won’t. The HCBOR will require insurance companies to disclose, in plain English, what a plan does. The days of blind siding patients with unexpected insurance bills are over. Patients will now have easy access to information about their insurance that will help them make more informed decisions about their care.