Sen. Vitelli submits testimony in support of Patients First health care reform package

Sen. Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic, submitted testimony on Tuesday in favor of the Patients First health care reform package, a suite of legislation that takes aim at our complicated health care system and its abusive billing practices. All four bills in the Patients First package received public hearings Tuesday before the Legislature’s Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee.

“A former coworker of mine was a young woman who has lived with Type 1 diabetes since she was a small child. She is dependent on insulin for her very life. And on top of dealing with the direct health concerns, she constantly had to worry about the cost of insulin and the insulin pump,” said Sen. Vitelli. “For her and everyone else who has shared their story about our broken health care system with me, knowing that there’s someone who has their backs and having a clearer idea of what costs they’ll incur when they seek out needed medical care will help alleviate these additional burdens they carry.”

The four bills in the Patients First health care reform package are:

• LD 2110, An Act to Lower Health Care Costs (Pres. Jackson): The bill will allow Maine to take control of growing health care costs in a complicated health care system by creating the Maine Commission on Affordable Health Care. The Commission will hold all the players in the health care system accountable and establish a process for effective, data-driven reforms. Massachusetts’ commission saved patients and businesses $7.2 billion over five years.

• LD 2096, “An Act To Save Lives by Capping the Out-of-pocket Cost of Certain Medications” (Speaker Gideon): This legislation caps the amount patients in the individual and small group markets pay for life-saving insulin at $100. The average cost of insulin for treating type 1 diabetes in the United States nearly doubled over a five-year period, rising from $2,864 to $5,705 per person, per year. 

• LD 2111, “An Act to Establish Patient Protections in Billing for Health Care” (Sen. Claxton): This bill would protect patients from abusive billing practices and unnecessary patient fees. It aims to protect patients from late medical bills, promote transparent billing, and provide cost information to patients before they receive care. Almost 70 percent of Americans are worried about unexpected medical bills. 

• LD 2105, “An Act To Protect Consumers from Surprise Emergency Medical Bills” (Speaker Gideon): It protects patients from high-cost bills from out-of-network providers when they never had an opportunity to choose a cheaper option. A recent study shows that one in five inpatient emergency department cases may lead to surprise bills. 

Last year, Maine Senate Democrats introduced a suite of bills that worked to reduce the cost of prescription medication for Mainers. The Patients First package continues and expands on this important work. 

The four bills in the Patients First package will face further committee work before going to the Maine Senate and House for votes.