Riley: Changes ahead for health care
A Baldacci administration official told legislators yesterday that some small businesses in Maine may decide not to offer health insurance plans when the state's DirigoHealth program is supplanted by the insurance exchanges included in federal health care reform law.
Trish Riley, director of the Governor's Office of Health Policy and Finance, said some of the 500 employers that offer coverage through DirigoHealth may opt to drop their health plans and give their employees a raise so they can obtain subsidies for insurance through the exchanges, according to MaineToday Media. Unlike those provided by Dirigo, the federal subsidies are not available to employers who offer health insurance, only to individuals seeking coverage. On Monday, Riley addressed the Legislature's Select Committee on Health Care Reform for potentially the last time, as Governor-elect Paul LePage could opt to scrap her position, created by an executive order by Gov. John Baldacci, when he takes office in January, according to the Sun Journal.
LePage and his advisers have spoken out against Dirigo, the state's controversial health care plan, and expressed their plans to scrap the program. Democrats have contended the program will simply be morphed into the new federal program and cease to exist, according to MaineToday.
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