My View: Helen Hanson on Advocacy and the Maine Report

I hear it all the time when I talk to co-workers.  “We need health insurance,” they always say to me. The drawback is the funding. With Maine’s budget the way it is, I honestly will be very surprised to see if the Legislature follows Ms. Kofman’s recommendation on the pilot.  But I am hopeful.

The Bureau of Insurance report on options for providing health insurance to Maine’s direct care workers is finally complete and recommends that a pilot program be developed for covering direct care workers in our state. Having been involved in the process of producing the report, I think the recommendation of a pilot is great as it would be a way to show employers and policy makers that health insurance is important to this workforce.

The report was a result of action taken by the Insurance and Financial Services Committee on the Direct Care Worker Coalition’s bill during the 2008 session. I was involved in both advocating for the bill and contributing to the report, because I feel it is a grave injustice to us direct care workers and the kind of work we do that we cannot get health insurance through our work.

The bill was to expand Dirigo, Maine’s health insurance program for small businesses and individuals, to let more direct care workers participate by allowing employers with more than 50 employees enroll and by subsidizing individuals with their premium costs. When the bill was going before Insurance and Financial Services, I presented testimony, explaining to the committee that the work I do is important and rewarding in other ways than monetary.

When the committee voted “Ought not to Pass” on the bill because of Maine’s bleak budgetary problems, it felt like just another hurdle to overcome. When I heard Senator Nancy Sullivan make the recommendation to further look into insuring direct care workers, it was like music to my ears. At first, I was not sure that I had heard her correctly. I still look at that recommendation as a small victory, it was another chance to educate policy makers as to the important work we do and the little compensation we receive.  I wrote a letter to Senator Sullivan, thanking her for the recommendation and telling her that I wanted to sit in on the work group.  A few weeks later, I received a phone call from Superintendent Mila Kofman, asking me to sit on the work group. I was very pleased that she asked me. Again, another chance to let a direct care worker talk to policy makers and educate them a bit!

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Health insurance cost listed by state?

Oct 26, 2006 by Vince S | Posted in Other - Health

I will be getting done work next year and would like to retire to a state where I can better afford medical insurance for myself and my wife. I now live in Maine and the health care cost is just overwhelming. Is there any listing of states (highest to lowest) that would tell me which would be the cheapest to retire to?...thanks, Vince.

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While it’s true that location is one of the factors that determine private health insurance premiums, most of the factors depend on your specific circumstance. I’ve included links to statehealthfacts.org, a Web site produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation. It provides a lot of information on health insurance usage, government spending, medical insurance costs, and other data by state.

I’ve also linked to an AARP collection of state HMO report cards that might be useful in terms of comprehensively evaluating health plans available in a state you might be considering.

Remember that price is just one factor. You also need to think about the quality of care. You might be better off paying more for insurance if you live in a place that offers superior medical facilities and physician staffs. You can compare health plan prices quickly at MostChoice.com. You can also talk with health insurance agents through the site without obligation or cost.

You can find it here: http://www.mostchoice.com/health-insurance.cfm

Hope this helps,
Barnes@MostChoice

What does California offer for health insurance for people with low income?

Oct 23, 2007 by a m | Posted in Los Angeles

I currently live in maine and get maine care. what would be the equivalent in california? and is it hard to get?

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There is no equivalent.

In California, you can be an illegal immigrant or indigent and get MediCal, or you can be simply too poor to afford medical insurance and you get nothing.

How much does it generally cost to COBRA health insurance?

Aug 23, 2008 by I wipe my own @$$ | Posted in Other - Careers & Employment

My husband and I are moving to Florida from Maine, we were planning on him transferring with the same company to keep health insurance, but his employer is not being nice (they're refusing to transfer him unless he stays until their season is over...in November, we're leaving the end of September).

Anyway, our only option at having health insurance (unless his company comes around) is COBRA through my employer. The policy states that I must pay the group fee plus administrative fees. What I'm confused about is what the group fee is. Is the group fee what I normally pay bi-weekly? Or is it what my employer pays plus what I pay (about $700 bi-weekly)?
Holy crap, that's alot of money! I thought COBRA was supposed to be helpful?
My issue is I have a pre-existing condition, if I go over 45 days without insurance coverage, no insurance company will cover anything to do with that condition

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It's both. What you're paying right now, PLUS what the employer is paying out of his pocket, plus a 2-5% admin fee on top of that.

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