123rd MAINE LEGISLATURE
		LD 1890		LR 2620(03)
	An Act To Make Health Care Affordable, Accessible and Effective for All
	Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "      "
	Committee: Insurance and Financial Services
	Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
Potential current biennium cost increase - General Fund Minor cost increase - Other Funds
			2007-08	2008-09	Projections 2009-10	Projections 2010-11
Revenue
	Dirigo Health Fund		$0	($13,720,000)	($34,300,000)	($34,300,000)
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	The fiscal note assumes the bill would eliminate the Saving Offset Payment (SOP), one of the funding sources for the Dirigo Health Program, beginning with the assessment effective July 1, 2008.  For the purposes of this fiscal note, the baseline assumption for future year SOP's is the $34.3 million SOP assessed for the year beginning  July 1, 2007.  For the first year of the SOP elimination, fiscal year 2008-09, only 40% of the new SOP is assumed to be collected,and therefore lost, in that year.  The Dirigo Health Program does have existing authority to keep program spending within exiting resources but what actions would be taken cannot be determined at this time.
	The bill would authorize the Dirigo Health Enterprise Funds to accept funds appropriated from the General Fund.  When combined with the elimination of the savings offset payment, this creates the potential for a cost to the General Fund although no funds are actually appropriated or transferred for this purpose.
	The additional costs to the Bureau of Insurance in the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation can be absorbed by the bureau utilizing existing budget resources.  Additional costs to the Dirigo Health Program can be absorbed by the program utilizing existing budget resources and existing authority to modify its program structure.  The fiscal note assumes the Maine Individual High-Risk Reinsurance Pool Association is created in the bill as a nonprofit, non-governmental legal entity so that the costs and assessment created to fund the association do not have a state fiscal impact.