I have lived over half of my life in Maine and I am lucky. I have always been employed and had health insurance through my employers. I have never had to worry about paying for health care my family needs. We have never experienced food insecurity or had to choose what bills to pay to make our budget work. Unfortunately we are the exception and it’s about to get worse.

Recently, the Maine Bureau of Insurance approved a 23.9% rate increase for 71,000 Maine residents who get their coverage thru the ACA marketplace, and a 17.5% increase for residents covered by small employers (less than 50 employees). These rate increases are driven by multiple factors including the cost of drugs and medical services and the potential loss of premium tax credits at year’s end.

I can’t turn away from the fact that many families may now have to choose whether to keep their insurance or not. They may have to decide whether they can make do with less coverage or none and hope they don’t experience significant health issues. It makes me wonder if mothers will get needed prenatal care or if children will see a PCP regularly to avoid long-term health problems.

And that’s just my concerns for the coming year. What happens if we experience more rate increases and uninsured patients using the ER as primary care? Who pays for that and how?
Can we really afford to let this happen in Maine and across this country?

Mike Willett
Eliot