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Courting Olympia Snowe - Healthcare debate - Time - http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1925829-1,00.html

mshook — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 05:28:00 -0400

Quiz time: Which of the following provisions has been tucked into the most closely watched health-care bill on Capitol Hill thanks to Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine? Is it a) an annual checkup for every Medicare beneficiary, b) a special health-insurance marketplace in every state that would cater to the needs of small businesses or c) new tax credits to help modest-size firms buy coverage for their workers?

Tagged by mshook under debate, maine, olympia, senator, time, dirigo, september, 2009, insurance, medical,

Patient Centered Medical Home Dirigo Health Agency’s Maine Quality Forum Progress Report | http://tinyurl.com/lr4kv7

mshook — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:53:00 -0400

Health systems in other countries and pilot projects in the United States have demonstrated that effective primary patient care that is comprehensive and accessible has the potential to improve health outcomes and lower costs. Primary care does this by ensuring that patients receive effective care measures for prevention and for management of chronic illness, by coordinating the use of testing and specialist evaluation and treatment, and by providing a comprehensive array of medical services in one clinic or office. Avoidance of duplicative care, unnecessary hospitalizations, and emergency room visits results in reduced health care costs. However, the necessary infrastructure and human resources to provide comprehensive and effective primary care are generally not adequately reimbursed to practitioners by payers. For this reason, it is difficult for primary care practices to supply services that are recognized as effective.

Tagged by mshook under maine, medical, dirigo, healthcare, insurance, pdf,

New Dirigo Health Funding Plan Draws Fire From Business Leaders | http://tinyurl.com/l25u7y

mshook — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:25:00 -0400

June 9, 2009 Reported By: Josie Huang Governor John Baldacci plans to sign a bill tomorrow that's aimed at giving the state's DirigoChoice health insurance program much-needed financial stability. To pay for Dirigo, the state charges health insurers a fee each year, which invariably leads to fights over how much the fee should be. Dirigo supporters say the bill to keep the fee fixed from year to year will avoid the expensive legal battles and bad blood. "The Number one thing that it does is it makes the funding source predictable and stable," says David Farmer, spokesman for the governor. Farmer tried to reassure the 9,000 people getting insurance through Dirigo, which is priced on ability to pay, and another 5,500 people who get Medicaid through the use of Dirigo dollars.

Tagged by mshook under dirigo, maine, health, medical, healthcare, insurance, june, 2009, law,

Dirigo Health Program to Get New Funding Mechanism - 6/8/09 3:10 PM EST | http://tinyurl.com/n3s8s8

mshook — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 06:21:00 -0400

The Maine Senate has given final approval to a measure intended to put Maine's Dirigo Health Insurance program on a healthier financial footing. The House approved the bill Friday, and Gov. John Baldacci, the bill's sponsor, is expected to sign it.

The bill provides an alternative to the Dirigo Health Program's current funding mechanism, a so-called "savings offset" fee assessed on insurers, which is based on how much health care savings the program generates. Because the amount of savings is difficult to accurately nail down, the system has led to court battles.

Instead of relying on savings estimates, the new system will assess a fixed 2.14 percent fee on paid claims. The Maine House passed the measure Friday by a vote of 83 to 53, and the Senate followed suit today by a vote to 20 to 15.

Tagged by mshook under dirigo, health, medical, insurance, maine, healthcare, june, 2009,

Maine health program (Dirigo) funding bill OKd | WBZ & AP | http://tinyurl.com/luqqe7

mshook — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 06:30:00 -0400

Maine health program funding bill OKd

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) By a vote of 83-53, the Maine House has given its final approval to a bill that would create a new funding source for the state's Dirigo health program.

Representatives on Friday approved legislation to replace the savings offset payment, now assessed at a variable rate of up to 4 percent of paid claims, with a fixed 2.14 percent payment on paid claims paid monthly.

The savings offset payments that have been used to pay for the state-subsidized Dirigo program have been challenged repeatedly by the health insurance industry.

The measure directs Dirigo's board to reach more uninsured and underinsured Mainers through a more affordable product.

It faces a Senate vote before it can be sent to Gov. John Baldacci for his signature.

Tagged by mshook under maine, health, insurance, medical, june, 2009, money, dirigo,

Bangor Daily News: Dirigo health plan still too expensive for some http://tinyurl.com/qmpgfs

mshook — Sat, 23 May 2009 11:27:00 -0400

Snowe has said she supports a national reform based on regulating insurance markets to increase competition while ensuring consumer protections. The primary alternative under consideration — a single-payer, government-run plan similar to Medicare — “is no panacea and should be a last resort,” according to a recent statement from Snowe’s office.

Rosemary Gladstone thinks the nation’s employer-based private insurance coverage system has proven a failure. She thinks a single-payer system is a better idea, and that people should be required to have insurance of one sort or another.

She worries that the Dirigo program, in danger of losing its funding, will collapse.

For now, though, she’s just glad to have coverage.

“I love having health insurance,” she said. “It gives me more motivation to take care of myself, and it provides an extra layer of stability.”

Tagged by mshook under dirigo, maine, health, insurance, medical, bangor,

The future of Dirigo Health, Maine’s healthcare initiative

mshook — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:23:00 -0400

"The legislation directs Dirigo’s board of trustees to revamp the program to make it more affordable. The bill also replaces the savings offset payment with a monthly payment from insurance companies that equals 2.14 percent of their total claim payments. It’s estimated that would generate $42 million a year." Tagged by mshook under maine, healthcare, health, medical, insurance, dirigo, news, april, 2009, money,

Dirigo Health News - Maine healthcare insurance

mshook — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:58:00 -0400

Tagged by mshook under dirigo, maine, health, insurance, news, april, 2009, medical,

2004 plan: Expanding Health Coverage: Maine's Dirigo Health Reform Act

mshook — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:38:00 -0400

"creating a state of universal coverage. ... DirigoChoice insurance plan has opened enrollment for small businesses and self-employed individuals, through a public-private health insurance venture with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine. More than 1,000 individuals have already enrolled, and coverage is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2005. In May 2005, the state announced that Dirigo Health will provide coverage for families earning up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, up from the previous limit of 150 percent. In announcing the news, Governor John Baldacci said that by expanding coverage, the state will save an estimated $10 million in charity care and bad debt for those who previously had no health insurance. For More Information Web site: http://www.dirigohealth.maine.gov/index.htmlContacts: Trish Riley, Executive Director and Adam Thompson, Legislative and Constituent Liaison, Governor's Office of Health Policy and Finance Phone: (207) 624-7442 " Tagged by mshook under via, dirigo, alert, health, insurance, medical, maine, socialism, good, 2004,

Maine Rejects Beverage Tax for Replacing Dirigo's 'SOP' Funding - The Commonwealth Fund

mshook — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 09:48:00 -0400

"Governor John Baldacci hopes, however, that under the incoming Obama administration, Maine could get federal Medicaid dollars to match Dirigo premiums paid by employers and individuals, which would help sustain and expand the program. This federal match was originally intended for the program but was rejected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS) and is now under appeal." Tagged by mshook under dirigo, health, insurance, maine, medical, tax, vote, politics, medicare,

Critique of non-US health care systems - Lessons from abroad for health reform in the U.S.

mshook — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 09:10:00 -0400

via http://blog.spn.org/id.3508/detail.asp via http://blog.spn.org/id.3505/detail.asp Tagged by mshook under health, medical, insurance, politics, conservative, via, dirigo, pdf, europe, market,

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Maine's Dirigo Health Agency Fail to Reach Agreement for 2008, Go Their Separate Ways

mshook — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 11:26:00 -0400

This is a good analysis of Dirigo's current (10/07) situation from the perspective of the insurance industry "Anthem has "a different mission, and that's perfectly fine," says Trish Riley, director of the Governor's Office of Health Policy and Finance (GOHPF), which was created by Maine Gov. John Baldacci (D) to develop and oversee Dirigo. "They had financial expectations beyond our budget, and we couldn't meet it," she explains during an interview. The decision to end the contract "was related to that," she says. During the first two years of the program, GOHPF offered experience modification payments (EMPs) to ensure that Anthem made a profit on the program. Riley says that the state legislature "made clear that it didn't like the arrangement. And we couldn't afford to do it again this year."" Tagged by mshook under health, good, insurance, industry, analysis, maine, dirigo, swhpl,

Anthem ending Dirigo Health contract at end of 2007

mshook — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 07:05:00 -0400

"AUGUSTA, Maine — Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield will not provide health coverage to Mainers through the state’s Dirigo Health Agency after this year because the two sides could not agree on terms to extend the contract. In a joint statement Wednesday, the two sides said they were unable to agree on acceptable financial terms to extend the contract for one year. Dirigo "is finalizing its plan to transition the program by Jan. 1, 2008, to assure that current members continue to have access to the DirigoChoice product and its subsidies," the statement said. About 15,000 subscribers are enrolled in the DirigoChoice insurance product that’s been administered by Anthem since 2003, two-thirds of them with individual coverage and a third in the group market, said Anthem spokesman Mark Ishkanian. What will happen to those subscribers when 2008 arrives was unclear Wednesday, Ishkanian said, because "we don’t know yet the direction the state’s going to go with the program." But he said Anthem is committed to helping the Dirigo agency make its transition. "We want DirigoChoice to succeed," Ishkanian said. "There are no hard feelings here." Anthem is also obligated to offer a similar insurance product to subscribers now covered under a DirigoChoice plan if they choose to remain with Anthem, but their premiums could go up, Ishkanian added. Dirigo Health was created by the Legislature in 2003 to curb health care costs, broaden access to coverage for thousands of Mainers who lack health insurance and promote health care quality. It is funded in part through savings in the health care system generated through the program. In July, Dirigo’s board of directors determined that the program will save $78 million in its third year of operation. The Maine Association of Health Plans, which represents state’s major health insurers, disputed the figure, saying the savings estimate is excessive. Maine’s major health insurers include Anthem, Aetna, Cigna HealthCare of Maine and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. Wednesday’s statement by Anthem and Dirigo Health said the two organizations "have worked diligently to make this program a success and feel very good about what has been accomplished over the three years." "We are grateful that Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield stepped up three years ago to help make DirigoChoice a reality and that they will work with us closely to transition the program," the Dirigo board’s chairman, Robert McAfee, said in the statement. A message left with Dirigo Executive Director Karynlee Harrington was not immediately returned." Tagged by mshook under dirgo, health, maine, insurance, healthcare, medical, subsidy,

Welcome to Dirigo Health - Working for Maine

mshook — Thu, 27 May 2004 03:06:00 -0400

Tagged by mshook under fromdelicious,

Dirigo Alliance - Home Page

mshook — Thu, 27 May 2004 03:06:00 -0400

Tagged by mshook under fromdelicious,