Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Health Insurance in Maine
I hope the citizens of Maine understand this, because I don't...
In this Wall Street Journal opinion column by Tarren BragdonN and Adam Brackemyre, I couldn't decide on a paragraph to quote, so here's their opener:
"PORTLAND, Maine--Welcome to the Pine Tree state, where a program that the governor claims has saved the state millions of dollars means that your taxes go . . . up. Maine is the home of Democratic Gov. John Baldacci's Dirigo Health, which regulates the state's health-care system and includes a subsidized health-insurance program. (Dirigo is the state's motto, Latin for "I lead.") When the law creating Dirigo Health was signed, proponents said it would reduce cost-shifting and health-system costs and ultimately cover all 130,000 uninsured Mainers within five years, including 31,000 uninsured in year one."
"It hasn't worked out that way. Through the first nine months only 1,600 previously uninsured individuals enrolled in Dirigo Health's insurance product, called DirigoChoice."
