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Action
Alert!
Don't Let Insurers Gamble with Your Health!
It's Not Worth the Risk!
Oppose LD 1945
Protect the health security of Maine individuals and families
High-risk pools are a high-stakes gamble with your health
LD 1945 Fact Sheet
WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW.
On Thursday, February 16th at 1:00 pm, the Insurance and
Financial Services Committee of the Maine State Legislature
will conduct a Public Hearing on LD 1945. This legislation
would severely deteriorate consumer protections in our current
health care system, force older people and those with chronic
illnesses or disabilities, including children, to pay much
higher premiums and shift more health care costs onto consumers.
This bill would result in less health care coverage at a higher
cost at a time when you need coverage most in return for higher
insurance industry profits.
SPEAK OUT AGAINST LD 1945.
This bill would:
- create a high-risk pool that would allow insurance companies
to discriminate against adults and children with chronic illnesses
(or those who had an illness, like cancer, in the past) by segregating
individuals into a separate high-risk pool that would require
them to pay higher premiums for reduced coverage;
- eliminate guaranteed issuance of coverage for individuals,
a consumer protection, which prevents insurance companies from
denying coverage to individuals for any reason including age,
gender, health status, or other characteristics. Without this
protection, insurance companies could deny offering coverage to
people with medical conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes,
asthma, cancer, or multiple sclerosis;
- eliminate continuity of coverage protections for individuals
who change plans, which protects people with "pre-existing
conditions" against discrimination in insurance coverage.
Repealing this protection would allow insurance companies to deny
coverage to someone with a medical condition if they change policies
in the individual market.
THIS IS ONE DAY WE CANNOT
AFFORD TO IGNORE.
LD 1945 is an extremist health care agenda that puts Maine families
at medical and financial risk and does not represent the values
we stand for in Maine. This is a serious threat to Maine's health
care system that must be confronted head-on. We urge you to act
today!
- LD 1945 threatens the health security of Maine's elderly, disabled,
and those with medical conditions, including children.
HOW CAN I HELP?
1) SIGN ON TO THE LETTER
2) Testify or Submit Testimony on February 16th at 1:00 pm
- You or your organization can testify or submit written testimony
on February 16th opposing LD 1945.
- The public hearing will be held in the Insurance and Financial
Service Committee (IFS) located on the 4th Floor of the State
House in room 427. If you testify or submit written testimony,
please bring 20 copies of your testimony so the committee clerk
can distribute them to legislators on the IFS committee.
3) Contact Legislators
- Call or email members of the IFS committee and tell them that
you are opposed to LD 1945 and ask them to vote the bill out of
committee "Ought Not To Pass"
- If you live in the district of one of the legislators serving
on the committee make sure you let them know you live in his/her
district.
- You can call toll free and leave a message for any State Representative
by calling 1-800-423-2900.
- You can call toll free and leave a message for any State Senator
by calling 1-800-423-6900.
- See below for a list of legislators on the IFS Committee and
how to find email addresses for legislators.
4) Contact Family, Friends, and the Media
- Please forward this email or any other relevant information
to family and friends and ask them to oppose LD 1945.
- Write a letter to the editor of your local paper to inform your
neighbors about LD 1945 and encourage them to contact their local
representatives in the State Legislature to let them know this
is not the right policy for Maine.
HELPFUL INFORMATION
See the following website for links to contact information for
IFS Committee members: http://janus.state.me.us/house/jt_com/ban.htm
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