Maine Care Provider Proposes Joint Initiative To Lower Health Costs in State
Officials at MaineHealth, the state's largest health care provider, on Dec. 10 proposed a plan under which health care providers, health insurers, unions, businesses and other organizations would partner to "get Maine's surging health care costs under control," the Portland Press Herald reports. The plan, called the "Health Care Challenge," recommends:
- Providers increase prices by no more than 6% in 2003 and hold profits to less than 3%.
- The federal government increase Medicare reimbursement rates.
- The state increase Medicaid reimbursement rates to physicians by 10% in 2004 and 10% each year after 2004 until they equal Medicare rates.
- Insurers limit profits to 3% or less.
- Employers continue to sponsor health coverage.
- Individuals lead "healthy lifestyles."
MaineHealth President Bill Caron said, "The Health Care Challenge is different because it lays out what each interested party can and must do to achieve the goal of quality, affordable health care for everyone. It recognizes that everyone must bear some of the 'pain' of reform, and that everyone must step up to the plate." Bill Cohen, a spokesperson for Anthem, Maine's largest private health insurer, said that the company has not endorsed the plan because of the recommendation to limit insurer profits to 3%. "We want to ... understand why they are suggesting that number, and do they totally understand the impact of that suggestion?" However, Cohen added, "To their credit, they've put it on paper; they've put it out there. Now all of us need to come to the table and talk about it." Joe Ditre, executive director of Consumers for Affordable Health Care, said, "It says to me that both providers and insurers ... are very nervous about what's going on in our health care system and see the writing on the wall. I take this as a preemptive strike. MaineHealth wants to be involved and basically is staking its claim" (Weinstein, Portland Press Herald, 12/11).
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