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Feature Articles
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ME health insurance crisis focus of forum seminar
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This article is reprinted with permission of Commercial Fisheries News, the Northeast's fishing newspaper for over 30 years, ©2003 Compass Publications Inc. Commercial Fisheries News is published monthly; annual subscriptions are $21.95. To subscribe or request a sample issue: call (877) 263-4496; fax (207) 367-2490; e-mail (cfoster@fish-news.com); or click on the hot link.
by Lorelei Stevens
ROCKPORT, ME - The health insurance crisis in Maine is getting more critical by the day, especially for the commercial fishing industry, which is already considered "high risk."
So it's no wonder that about 70 people chose to arrive a day early for the Maine Fishermen's Forum and spend the entire day intensely engaged in a Feb. 28 seminar to learn about the health insurance problem and how to take action to improve the situation.
Seminar speakers included: state Rep. Michael Saxl, speaker of the Maine House of Representatives; Eric Cioppa, deputy commissioner of the Maine Insurance Bureau; Charlene Rydell, a legislative aide and member of the Maine Health Access Foundation's board of directors; David Bergeron of the Massachusetts Fishermen's Partnership; Alice Knapp, a health insurance lawyer with the law firm Duane Morris; and Mark Talluto of Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, the largest remaining insurer in the state.
On Saturday, March 1, two of the organizers, Ann Hayden of Resource Services and Beth Gronros of Rockland Boat, provided a wrap up of the information that emerged from the day-long seminar.
A few facts:
- As the cost of medical care in the state has steadily increased, the number of companies offering health insurance in Maine has dwindled to just three;
- Health insurance premium costs have skyrocketed in the last two years to the point where they threaten to break the backs of small businesses and are simply out of reach for many individuals and families;
- There are currently an estimated 163,000 uninsured people in the state of Maine out of a 1999 Census Bureau estimated population of 1.23 million;
- Seventy-two percent of uninsured people in Maine are in working families; and
- The state spends about $165 million annually in "charity" care for uninsured people.
Not surprisingly, a lot of people are working hard to come up with options.
Rep. Saxl has developed a health insurance bill - LD 1784 - aimed at small businesses with one to 50 employees, but there was a fair amount of skepticism that it will become law anytime soon.
The Maine Health Access Foundation, which manages a trust fund created with $80 million from the sale of Blue Cross/Blue Shield to Anthem, has set a goal of securing universal health care for the state. However, it would take twice that amount to capitalize a universal care insurance program.
One speaker who caught the attention of many people was David Bergeron of the Massachusetts Fishermen's Partnership (MFP), who talked about the Fishing Partnership Health Plan (see related story, this page).
The plan was launched in 1997 as a cooperative venture of MFP, the Tufts Health Plan network of physicians and hospitals, and the Caritas Christi Health Care System, an affiliation of Catholic hospitals in Massachusetts.
The plan secured federal and state funding subsidies and now provides quality, affordable health care for nearly 1,700 fishermen and their families.
Bergeron urged the Maine fishing industry to create an ad hoc steering committee to explore the idea.
"The Fishing Partnership Health Plan is willing to work with the fishing communities of Maine and others to help them in every way possible to develop a plan," Bergeron said in a follow-up interview.
"The first step is to form an umbrella organization to represent the Maine industry on this issue," he said. "Universal health care is the answer, but it's not going to happen for a while."
In summing up the forum session, Hayden said, "The take-home message is we have to support all of these things. The big thing for fishermen is that they have to make their voices heard."
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