Current Maine insurance issues as of February 2010Maine insurance affordability and availability issues are murky as the small population of this state creates difficulty in projecting trends.
Maine is not a huge state so you don't expect the health care armageddon-type statistics that you might get from other larger states. To be truthful, things are not necessarily bad in Maine but they're not trending towards improving. Nearly 14000 residents of this state lost their health coverage in 2009 due to the recent downturn in the economy. That's not a huge number considering other states but it's not good news. Their unemployment rose in 2009 to 8.2 percent, which some other states like Nevada and Michigan would probably kill to have. A more notable statistic is that health care premiums rose 4.6 times as fast as earnings in this state from 2000 to 2009. That is an eye opening statistic anywhere and it makes you wonder how many Maine residents are struggling with health care affordability. Additional challenges that face this state include the traditional health care inefficient bureaucracy and lack of access to health care providers. In 2008, Maine residents were angered by the state government's attempt to raise taxes to support Dirigo Care, which is the state's attempt at providing universal health care. You have to wonder in the future how much people will be willing to trade off higher taxes for adequate health coverage.
Do you have a different opinion of health coverage in this state?Health coverage policies and laws obviously can change. If your experience with getting health coverage is different than what is written above, or if you just want to share your experiences with health coverage, please feel free. |