"Maine citizens fed up with attacks on Dirigo Health say 'Dirigo Works' and call on legislative leaders and legislators to continue progress"

Augusta, ME - January 12, 2006

During a press conference organized by the Maine People's Alliance and Consumers for Affordable Health Care, small business owners and individuals enrolled in the DirigoChoice program gathered to share their stories about why they chose DirigoChoice and how the program has benefited them and their businesses. Speakers at the event called on legislators to support Dirigo Health and continue the progress that has already been made. Those gathered were reacting to anti-Dirigo Health radio ads that have been airing around the state, as well as lawsuits launched by insurance industry representatives, and recent editorial page activity. Speakers provided the voices and faces of Maine people covered under the DirigoChoice program and reminded the audience about the reasons why this program was originally created. They shared their real-life challenges with the health care system and their sometimes life-dependent need for affordable, quality health coverage.

"Recent attacks from insurers and some legislative leaders have compelled us to create a forum to let the voices of real Maine people be heard," said Faye Pertuis, a member of the Maine People's Alliance and DirigoChoice enrollee. "Thousands of individuals are enrolled in and benefiting from the DirigoChoice program, and many more were on a waiting list and are now able to enroll, but their voices are being drowned out by the attacks from Republican leaders and the insurance industry. Our legislators need to know that we're counting on them to put the Maine people first. We elected our leaders to represent us, not big insurance companies."

"I am appalled at the way people who already have the security of a health insurance plan, or carry a political agenda can tell people who don't, that Dirigo has failed," said Joan Donahue, a lifelong Maine resident and Owner of Hummingbird Home Care in Warren. "DirigoChoice provides affordable health care coverage for me and my employees. Health insurance is a large portion of my strategy to keep workers healthy." Being able to provide health insurance coverage for her employees is important to Donahue, who said that her employees are "home care workers who work hard providing the elderly citizens of Maine the assistance they need to stay home." Before Donahue learned about DirigoChoice, she was not able to afford health care coverage for her business. She was excited to learn about Dirigo and the seeming match between her philosophy of wellness and prevention and the affordability of the plan.

John Van Inwagen, owner of the Belfast Co-Op, encouraged all of us - employees, businesses, insurers, health care providers and the state - to work together to build upon and improve the DirigoChoice program, as is necessary with any new program. He referred to the DirigoChoice program as a "much needed solution to affordable health coverage." Van Inwagen said his business is satisfied with the DirigoChoice plan and "the fact that more employees enrolled than in our previous plan." Currently 21 of the employees of the Belfast Co-Op are enrolled in DirigoChoice, compared to 9 that were enrolled in their previous plan.

Another speaker said DirigoChoice has been a lifesaving program for her. After gaining the courage to leave a physically abusive marriage, she became clinically depressed and was hospitalized two times in a one-year period because of her fear that she could not survive financially. At the news conference, Jacquie Murhpy of Westbrook said, "when DirigoChoice became an option, I was able to recover completely from the depression…DirigoChoice provided me with coverage to support the medical treatment I needed to recover. It also provided me with financial security - knowing I could afford the coverage and survive on my own financially. I am glad to say I am living a happy and productive life. Now that I have DirigoChoice I feel like I am being helped to help myself."

John Henderson, a speaker from Auburn and a diabetic since the age of 4, told the audience that he found himself uninsured for the first time last year. Without health insurance coverage, he could no longer afford the cost of his insulin, prescriptions, and doctor visits - the basic care that he says keeps him alive and out of the emergency room. He was relieved to learn about DirigoChoice and has recently enrolled in the program. He said, "I can now get my insulin and medications at affordable prices, see a physician, and have my particular health needs met." Henderson also had a challenge for the audience: "If any of you out there don't think that Dirigo is worth your active, enthusiastic support and vote, then I have a challenge for you. Drop your health insurance and go without for a year. Drop your family's health insurance for a year. See what the 130,000 uninsured people of Maine have to contend with…See what it is like to stare sickness, and bankruptcy in the face. If you are not willing to do that, then you are morally obligated to support Dirigo."

The passion of these speakers was obvious and is not surprising given recent politically motivated efforts to undermine the program. In particular, ads attacking the Dirigo Health program have aired recently on local radio stations. The ads are funded by The Way Life Should Be PAC, whose officers are the four top Republican leaders in the Maine legislature. The PAC has spent $10,000 to run 60-second radio ads on 10 radio stations across the state for the past few weeks. On December 6th, PAC leaders admitted to the Portland Press Herald that money was raised from individuals "who are involved in the insurance industry."

"Our legislature made a real commitment to address Maine's healthcare crisis with the passage of Dirigo Health, and it's working," said Jenny Rottmann, Healthcare Organizer for the Maine People's Alliance. "Resorting to partisan politics or bowing to the interests of insurance industry lobbyists at this stage isn't going to get us anywhere. Thousands of Mainers are counting on the Dirigo Health Program for their physical, mental, and financial well-being. They want their elected officials to support this program and build on its early success."

"The scope of this problem is too big to turn a real solution into a political football," Pertuis said. "When insurers and others with financial and political interests play politics, thousands of uninsured and under-insured Mainers are the ones stuck in the balance. Let's put politics aside, put the influence of the insurance lobby aside, and start putting the stories of real Maine people at the center of this debate. When you listen to their stories, it is clear that Dirigo Health is working for them and it's working for Maine."

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