Hannah Pingree is a former speaker of the Maine House, director of the governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future and current Democratic candidate for governor.

Maine’s next governor will be stepping directly into a health care crisis. In just the past week, we’ve seen two painful reminders of how fragile and dysfunctional our system has become.

It’s one of the reasons I’m running for governor. I believe that every Mainer, no matter where they live or how much they earn, deserves access to affordable, high-quality health care. And right now, that promise seems very far out of reach.

As governor, I’ll take on the big insurance companies and fight for a public health insurance option, a state-backed plan that puts people before profits. This won’t replace private insurance, but it will inject real competition into the market and offer an affordable, reliable choice that’s accountable to the people of Maine, not corporate shareholders.

Take what’s happening between Northern Light Health and Anthem. Contract negotiations between one of our largest hospital systems and the state’s biggest private insurer have broken down. If nothing changes, 30,000 Mainers could be forced to find a new doctor or pay much more to keep the one they have. It’s the kind of standoff that leaves real people hurting, and it’s exactly the kind of fight that state leadership must be ready to take on.

If this stalemate drags on much longer, those patients could also get hit with a sky high bill when visiting their local provider — even if it’s the only one for miles around.

D.C. is now at a standstill, with the impacts soon to hit Maine pocketbooks, as Congress has failed again to extend advanced premium tax credits due to expire at the end of the year.

This is on top of the significant cuts made to both Medicaid and Medicare that will hit next year. More than 50,000 Mainers rely on premium tax credits to afford their health coverage, from self-employed folks to employees of small businesses to retirees. Health coverage for thousands of Mainers hangs in the balance, as we brace for premiums to as much as double in price.

My own health insurer recently had a 26% premium increase approved, and this is the hike before the expiration of the federal tax credits. Thousands of Mainers received a similar reminder that the system is not sustainable or affordable for anyone.

Families will be faced with tough decisions about whether they can continue to afford coverage at all. As a mom, as a resident of a rural community, and as someone who’s worked at the highest levels of state government, I’ve seen these challenges from every angle.

I served as speaker of the Maine House and chaired the Health and Human Services Committee, where I fought to expand access to care, protect kids’ health, lower prescription drug prices and strengthen rural services.

Most recently, I led the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future and helped develop the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, investing over $1 billion to strengthen our economy, including much-needed investments to bolster our health care workforce.

Maine has made progress in expanding access to affordable health care, but that progress is under serious threat with costs that are too high and a system that is very challenging to navigate.

At the same time, President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress have actively worked to undermine the gains we’ve made and they threaten rural access to care. From government shutdowns to deep cuts to Medicaid, these attacks have real consequences for Maine families.

It’s time to change the playing field. That means giving consumers better choices, holding powerful health care players accountable, investing in primary care and health care workers — and fixing what’s broken by rebuilding the system based on models that are working.

As governor, I won’t just call out the problem, I’ll use the power of the state to build a solution.

A public health insurance option means Maine creates its own plan, one families can choose if they’re priced out or mistreated by private insurers. It means lower costs, steadier coverage and finally giving people some leverage in a market that’s been rigged against them for too long. Health care needs big changes and bold ideas.

I’d listen — to Maine residents, doctors, nurses, and other health care providers, businesses, and others — to hear what they think about our problems and the best path forward. The people who live with the system every day, whether they’re trying to afford a prescription, find a doctor, staff an emergency room, or cover health insurance for their employees — understand better than anyone where the pain points are and what’s working.

I’m running for governor not because I have all the answers, but because I’ve spent my career bringing people together to solve tough problems, like those facing our dysfunctional health care system.

We can’t fix all of the problems overnight and it sure would be helpful if Washington was on our side. But we must — and I will — fight every day to make health care more accessible and affordable for every Mainer.