An Act To Provide an Affordable and Accessible Health Care System for all Residents of Maine

CONCEPT DRAFT SUMMARY

This bill is a concept draft pursuant to Joint Rule 208.

This bill proposes to establish a health care system in the State that will be simple and efficient for all consumers and providers. The bill proposes to provide all Maine residents with access to an affordable health benefit plan covering essential health benefits. The bill proposes to create the Health Care Trust, which will have authority to determine essential health care benefits, to negotiate with providers, to reimburse providers for the costs of providing care at negotiated rates and to manage the financing mechanisms for the trust. All Maine residents will be eligible to enroll in the trust on a voluntary basis. Those residents currently eligible for MaineCare or other public coverage will be automatically enrolled; MaineCare and other public coverage programs will be replaced by the trust's health care coverage.

The bill proposes to use several funding sources to pay for the costs of the trust and for coverage of all Maine residents enrolled in the trust for coverage, including payroll taxes, transaction taxes and available federal funding.

The Health Care Trust will be administered by a health care administrator and overseen by a board of trustees. In addition, a stakeholder advisory board will provide input and guidance for the trust.