AUGUSTA — A report that outlines an important component of health insurance reform in Maine — a health care exchange where people can shop for policies — was met with frustration by Democrats as it was presented Monday to a legislative committee.

“I’m disappointed,” Sen. Joseph Brannigan, D-Portland, said before he and other members of the Insurance and Financial Services Committee received the report. “It just doesn’t seem friendly and inviting as a marketplace for businesses and people shopping for insurance.”

The federal health insurance overhaul, called the Affordable Care Act, requires states to set up nonprofit exchanges that must be self-sustaining by 2015. The report recommending ways to structure Maine’s exchange was prepared by a nine-member advisory panel formed by the Legislature earlier this year.

Whether Maine’s exchange ever becomes reality will depend largely on whether the care act survives legal challenges.

The bill proposed Monday would meet federal guidelines, such as authorizing the exchange to certify participating health plans, determine eligibility of individuals to participate, and maintain toll-free hot lines and other services to help people purchase coverage.

Joseph Bruno, chairman of the advisory committee, took issue with Democrats’ claims that the exchange is light on consumer interests, saying the report recommends having consumer representation on its governing board and other advisory panels. He also recommended a “go-slow approach” to creating an exchange, noting that the federal guidelines on exchanges are not fully developed.

 

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