Latest news with #Mastraccio
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Amid rising costs, lawmaker wants to restart conversation about universal health care
Mainers spend more than $18.5 billion annually on health care, nearly 20% of the state's Gross Domestic Product, according to a 2024 report from the Maine Center for Economic Policy. (Photo:) One legislator is pushing to explore the possibility of a publicly funded universal health care system for Maine, which would expand coverage to more than 59,000 currently uninsured residents. During a public hearing on Wednesday, proponents stressed the urgent need for a better health care system, though the state's affordable health care office said there is 'no path forward' for establishing such a program right now. One bill, LD 1269, proposes a comprehensive study to analyze the costs and feasibility of a universal health care plan. Another, LD 1883, offers a detailed blueprint for a state-wide system called the All Maine Health Program that would provide comprehensive coverage to all Maine residents. If passed, Maine would be the only state in the country to shift to a universal health care system. During the hearing before the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee, Rep. AnnMarie Mastraccio (D-Sanford), who introduced both bills, said a state-wide system has not been studied comprehensively since 2002, and that 'it's time to update those numbers and evaluate our options.' She is aiming to address rising health care challenges including the closure of hospitals in rural Maine, the uncertainty around Medicaid funding, and overall health care costs increasing. Mainers spend more than $18.5 billion annually on health care, nearly 20% of the state's Gross Domestic Product, she said. 'Maine's current health care system is fragmented, inefficient and economically unsustainable,' Mastraccio said.'As legislators, we have a responsibility to make data-driven decisions that promote a sustainable, equitable health care infrastructure that begins with understanding the true costs and potential savings of a universal, publicly funded system.' Dozens of health care providers, advocates and Mainers who have struggled with medical costs testified in support of the bills, highlighting the urgent need for reform. They pointed to the lack of access to providers in rural areas, racial disparities in health care access in the state and the financial strain on both patients and providers because of the patchwork system of insurance coverage. 'The burden of this poor health infrastructure falls disproportionately on women of color, Black and Indigenous women and low income and rurally located women,' said Lily James, advocacy coordinator for the Maine Women's Lobby. For example, 65% of pregnant Black Mainers receive adequate prenatal care in 2022, compared to 87% of white Mainers, according to Maine Department of Health and Human Services data. And 22% of pregnant Mainers have to travel more than 45 minutes to access a birthing hospital, according to a 2023 report that James cited. 'The All Maine Health Program would be life changing, and in many cases, life saving for so many Mainers and will pave the way for the desperately needed changes to Maine's health care infrastructure,' James said. A November 2024 report from the Maine Center for Economic Policy found that, based on current demographics and insurance coverage, the cost of such a program would roughly equal the amount Mainers spend now, between $17.8 and $19.3 billion. Testifying on behalf of the plan, James Myall, a policy analyst for MECEP who authored the report, said that, unlike the current system, the cost of a universal system could be offset by other revenue streams, such as federal grants or increasing taxes on the wealthiest Mainers. 'This means that most Mainers will pay less under the proposed plan than under the status quo, while also being free of the stresses that come from being unable to afford copays and deductibles, worrying about in-network coverage, or switching insurance providers,' he told lawmakers. Meg Garratt-Reed, director of Maine's Office of Affordable Health Care, which was established by the Legislature in 2021, testified against both bills, saying the state isn't in a position to implement them with the current financial constraints and the amount of change that would be required to implement the program. While she acknowledged that Maine's health system is flawed and praised the intent behind the bills, she said a single-payer program would be too costly and complex to set up right now. The All Maine Health Program aims to save money by removing insurance companies from the system, which would reduce administrative costs like billing as well as shareholder profits. But Garratt-Reed said those savings wouldn't be enough to offset the added expenses in the plan. The bills would expand what's covered, increase payments to providers, and do less to limit unnecessary or overly costly treatments — all of which would drive up overall spending. She also said the bills would move away from the current cost-control system used by Medicare and MaineCare, Maine's Medicaid system, which set fixed prices for services. Instead, the state would have to negotiate rates with each provider — a more complex and less efficient process that could lead to even higher costs. The proposal also relies on using federal money (such as Medicaid and Medicare funds) to pay for the new system — but federal law doesn't let states reallocate money designated for specific programs without special permission, she said. And the federal government is very unlikely to give that permission, Garratt-Reed said, especially under the current political situation, pointing to congressional Republicans' proposal to drastically cut Medicaid funding. 'I think we can all agree that our current health care system is flawed, and that many people suffer because of those flaws. However much we may wish that we could recreate our nation's health care system from the ground up, we have a responsibility to those people to pursue solutions that have real potential to ease their suffering,' she said. 'The reality is there is no path forward for implementing such a program in Maine now or in the immediate future.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bipartisan health committee members reject limits on syringe service programs
A sharps disposal box sits beside Needlepoint Sancutary's set up at Camp Hope, an unhoused encampment in Bangor. The syringe service program hands out provisions and clean syringes along with kits containing fentanyl testing strips and the overdose reversal drug Naloxone. (Photo by Eesha Pendharkar/Maine Morning Star) A majority of legislators on the health committee on Wednesday rejected a bill to limit the number of clean syringes certified programs can hand out, backing Maine's more flexible policy, which medical providers and harm reduction experts have vouched for. Penobscot County is currently experiencing an HIV outbreak, with 22 cases since last October (compared to one or two cases a year, in recent years). During the public hearing on the bill, health providers and operators of syringe service programs stressed the importance of access to clean needles in the light of this outbreak, citing research that supports the efficacy of these programs. But some municipalities have blamed expanded syringe services for syringe litter on sidewalks, public parks and private property. LD 216, introduced by Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio (D-Sanford), would limit the number of clean syringes needle exchanges can hand out, reverting to a one-for-one ratio that Maine allowed until 2022, before adopting new rules that allow participants to bring in just one used syringe to receive 100 clean ones. Maine Department of Health and Human Services also allows participants to receive up to 100 syringes, even if they don't bring any used ones in, at the discretion of the provider. Maine DHHS, which oversees the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, opposed the bill, arguing the 'proposed language is not supported by evidenced based practice, would limit access, and increases infectious disease transmission risk including HIV and Hepatitis C,' according to testimony by Maine CDC Director Dr. Puthiery Va. Needle exchanges face municipal pushback despite state, public health backing Both Republicans and Democrats on the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee said Wednesday that municipalities should decide what policies are best suited for needle exchanges in their communities, but the statewide ratio does not need to change. 'To me, it just sounds like a disposal issue,' Sen. Marianne Moore (R-Washington) said during the work session on the bill. 'However, it's local control, so each of the cities can do their own ordinance. So I personally think that we should just leave it up at 100, because it's been working other than the disposal part of it.' With the exception of a few votes, the vast majority of the health committee voted against Mastraccio's bill. That recommendation now heads to the full House and Senate to consider. Last November, Sanford passed an emergency ordinance to revert back to the one-for-one syringe ratio, which Mastraccio said appears to have reduced syringe litter. 'We believe the ordinance has reduced the number of discards greatly, and I have not heard of corresponding outbreaks of HIV or Hepatitis among the needle exchange population,' she said in public testimony. Amanda Campbell of the Maine Municipal Association also said many towns and cities supported the tighter restrictions on needle exchanges because they are 'concerned about the safety of their public works employees and their residents who are consistently exposed to used needle litter.' But according to the Maine CDC's syringe service report from 2023, released last May, most users bring in roughly the same amount of syringes they receive. Syringe services handed out 1.16 syringes for each one they collected last year, which means that despite some concern about the state's 100 to 1 ratio, the effective rate of exchange has not dramatically changed. Syringe service programs also provide sharps disposal containers and help reduce discarded waste in communities, according to Dr. Kinna Thakarar, a physician at Maine Medical Center and an associate professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine. Another solution lawmakers discussed is Portland's needle buyback program, which the city's public health director, Bridget Rauscher, said has helped reduce syringe litter by 76% and also resulted in a 58% increase in used syringe return. Participants can earn 10 cents per used needle they turn in, with a weekly cap of 200 syringes per person. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
