Senate supports Sen. Brenner bill to to provide Mainers free assistance with health insurance

AUGUSTA — On Wednesday, the Maine Senate voted in support of a bill from Sen. Stacy Brenner, D-Scarborough, to maintain Maine’s health insurance consumer assistance program. LD 631, “An Act To Provide Funding for Maine’s Health Insurance Consumer Assistance Program,” received a vote of 22-13.

“Our health insurance system can be incredibly difficult to navigate. As a nurse-midwife, I’ve seen first-hand how hard it can be for even well-informed patients to sort out billing and coverage details,” said Sen. Brenner. “Mainers are lucky to have a dedicated group of consumer advocates on their side, and I’m grateful to my colleagues in the Senate for supporting their good work.”

Maine Consumers for Affordable Health Care is Maine’s consumer assistance program. They operate a free 1-800 consumer assistance helpline five days a week, put on educational workshops and programming, and provide free assistance to Mainers who have questions or issues related to health insurance. During 2020 alone, Maine CAHC received more than 8,000 calls from residents seeking assistance. The helpline number is 1-800-965-7476 and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

LD 631 would provide $400,000 in funding over two years to the Department of the Attorney General in order to contract with a health insurance consumer assistance program for the next two fiscal years.

“Denials of coverage can be devastating — especially for people with serious health conditions and for those who are already struggling to pay high premiums and out-of-pocket costs,” said Kate Ende, Policy Director for Maine CAHC. “The appeals process can be daunting, especially when people are unaware of their rights or have limited knowledge of insurance regulations and requirements. Without timely and professional guidance or assistance, many people are faced with expensive bills they can’t pay, are burdened with over time, or being unnecessarily sent to collections. In 2020, the CAP recovered $128,000 in benefits on behalf of individuals for services that had been denied by their private health plans.

LD 631 faces further votes in the Legislature.