Too many families in Maine and across the country are struggling to cover the cost of their health care. Paying for prescriptions, emergency treatment or even routine checkups can put a serious strain on household finances. It shouldn’t be like that. That’s why last year, I stood with my colleagues in the Senate to introduce a suite of bills that aimed to lower the cost of prescription drugs. By targeting the problem from multiple angles, we were able to make real change for Maine families. But we know our work isn’t done. This year, we’ve introduced the Patients First health care reform package. For too long, our health care system has put profits before patients’ wellbeing. We think it’s time that changed.
The first step toward that change comes from a bill sponsored by Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash. LD 2110, “An Act To Lower Health Care Costs,” would allow us to better control growing health care costs in what’s becoming an increasingly complicated system, by creating the Maine Commission on Affordable Health Care. This commission would improve transparency and create policy recommendations that would lower costs for patients. In short, this bill would make sure you and your family have someone in your corner, looking out for your wellbeing and your pocketbook.
Two other bills in the Patients First package deal with complicated, unfair medical bills. How many times have you or someone you know received a medical bill months or even years after being treated? How many times have you heard from a friend or neighbor that they scheduled a medical procedure only to find out it would have been cheaper at a different site? I’ve also heard horror stories about people who sought emergency care, only to find out afterward their insurance didn’t cover that particular ER. It doesn’t have to be this way.
A bill from my colleague Sen. Ned Claxton, D-Auburn — LD 2111, “An Act To Establish Patient Protections in Billing for Health Care,” — would make sure you have important cost information upfront, before you decide where and when to have a procedure. This bill would also make medical bills more transparent, and ensure that you get them in a timely manner. Getting a big bill, months or even years after a procedure, can be a real hardship for many Maine families. If you don’t get a bill within six months of treatment, you shouldn’t have to pay it.
The other bill that targets medical billing comes from Speaker of the House Sara Gideon, D-Freeport. LD 2105, “An Act To Protect Consumers from Surprise Emergency Medical Bills,” would protect patients from high-cost “out-of-network” charges when they seek emergency medical care. When you or your family need care, the last thing on your mind should be the price tag or insurance red tape. LD 2105 would provide Maine patients with increased protections, and create a process for people to dispute surprise medical bills.
The final bill in the Patients First reform package takes aim at the high cost of insulin. Right now, there are nearly 142,000 Mainers living with diabetes, and diabetes is the seventh-leading cause of death in our state. Insulin has been around for decades, but its price keeps climbing — nearly doubling over the last five years. It’s an unstable, tragic situation. Across our country, many diabetes patients are rationing their insulin because they simply can’t afford it. Unfortunately, there’s only so much we have jurisdiction over at the state level, but we know we have to do something. LD 2096, “An Act To Save Lives by Capping the Out-of-pocket Cost of Certain Medications,” also from Speaker Gideon, would cap the out-of-pocket costs of insulin at $100 for a 30-day supply for those who are insured through the individual and small group markets. The experience of my former colleague, a young woman who has lived with Type 1 diabetes since she was a small child , is the reason I took on the fight to lower drug costs. She was so grateful when the Affordable Care Act came about because she is dependent on insulin for her very life. I think of her, and I am grateful we can do something for others like her. I’m hopeful that Maine’s action will once again lead the nation, and spur politicians in Washington to finally take action.
Access to affordable health care is about having the freedom to live a healthy, productive life. I firmly believe that every family in Maine deserves that freedom. I’m proud to support the Patients First health care reform package, and all the positive change it stands to bring to our state.
State Sen. Eloise Vitelli represents District 23: Arrowsic, Bath, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Dresden, Georgetown, Phippsburg, Richmond, Topsham, West Bath, Woolwich and the unorganized township of Perkins.
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