AUGUSTA — The panel creating recommendations for the state implementation of the federal health care law on Tuesday put the finishing touches on its report to Gov.-elect Paul LePage and the recently sworn-in Legislature.
However, with LePage vowing to join the lawsuit challenging a key portion of the law, it’s unclear to what extent the committee’s work will be considered.
Committee leadership expressed hope that the incoming administration would weigh its analysis, including a determination that Maine was better positioned than most states to merge with the federal law because of the state’s Dirigo Health program. However, members indicated Tuesday that there had been little or no outreach from the incoming administration.
Trish Riley, Gov. John Baldacci’s outgoing commissioner of Health Policy and Finance, said she has had no contact with LePage’s transition team.
“I’m not sure it’s appropriate to reach out to them, but we’ll certainly transmit this (report), and it’s clearly for their review,” Riley said. “It’s our job to analyze and propose recommendations, and it’s their job to determine what to do with the recommendations.”
Dan Demeritt, LePage’s press secretary, said the incoming governor appreciated the work of the committee. Although the administration didn’t send a staff member to Tuesday’s public hearing, Demeritt said it would receive a summary of the panel’s findings.
Demeritt would not say if LePage would appoint a state liaison to oversee integration with the Affordable Care Act, the panel’s first recommended action for 2011.
“A decision will be made once (LePage) is in office,” Demeritt said.
The Advisory Council on Health Systems Development, a panel of lawmakers and stakeholders in the health care and insurance industry, was created by the Legislature through the Dirigo Health legislation. With Dirigo also targeted for elimination by LePage, committee members wondered during Tuesday’s work session if the panel’s health-related studies, including their most recent on the ACA, would still be published on the governor’s website, as they are now.
“I think there’s a real concern about that,” Riley said, adding that she’d advised staff to host the studies elsewhere.
Despite the uncertainty, committee Chairman Dr. Brian Rines said he hoped LePage would consider the panel’s work on health care and other issues.
“I can’t imagine that with all the work done by this incredible spectrum of people that they’d ignore it,” Rines said.
He added, “I think they have to weigh it. We would advocate that it become their core policy for consideration. Whether they do that or not, I don’t know. But it defies common sense when we know how much money we’ve spent here.”
The state has received and spent close to $26 million in grants preparing for implementation of the health care law.
Demeritt previously said that amount could indicate how complex the law is “and how difficult it might be to live with.”
Riley said Tuesday that Maine will have to comply with the ACA, even if the new administration joins 20 other states in legally challenging the law’s individual mandate. The provision requires all Americans to buy health insurance unless they qualify for income or religious exemptions.
Challenging the mandate is central to Republican attempts to repeal the law. On Monday, a Virginia judge ruled the provision unconstitutional. A similar ruling is expected in Florida later this week.
Judges in two other states have upheld the individual mandate.
Although the Virginia decision was considered a victory for the GOP, Riley said the ruling wasn’t devastating to the law because the judge didn’t attempt to stop the entire legislation.
“The important thing about the Virginia case is that the judge could have ordered a stay and prevented the law from going into effect,” Riley said. “He did not. He could have addressed the Medicaid issues. He did not.”
The law goes into effect in 2014, but states have to begin setting up the insurance exchanges by 2013 or the systems will be executed by the federal government.
According to the panel’s report, Maine will need to develop a plan to transition individuals from Dirigo to programs under the ACA, and Mainers now eligible for Dirigo programs will qualify for federal tax credits to pay for coverage available through the exchanges.
The exchanges are designed to encourage competition between insurers to drive down costs.
The report also recommends that Maine consider whether to join a multistate insurance compact, which would allow insurers to offer products across state lines in or after 2016, and if so, which states it would like to partner with.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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