The latest in a long line of "Dirigo" bills has been heard in my committee, Insurance and Financial Services, and is now ready to be voted on in the House and Senate. It is LD 2247, Rep. Hannah Pingree's "Act to Continue Maine's Leadership in Covering the Uninsured."

This bill is also known as the "Dirigo deal bill," as it contains within it a deal to entice more legislators to vote for it. The sponsors hope that this legislation will get Dirigo the revenue it desperately needs to continue operating - in this case, with two new taxes.

Dirigo is running out of money - fast. Having spent some $163 million and counting and because of its less-than-stellar performance, the incentive to spend even more on this program when state dollars are tight and taxpayers are maxed-out has not been great. LD 2247 would eliminate the controversial Savings Offset Payment (the so-called "Dirigo tax") and implement a new 1.8% tax on all health insurance claims paid in the state along with a new 50-cent tax on a pack of cigarettes to support the program.

Also included in this bill is a tidbit of health insurance market reform, the "carrot" to bring Dirigo-weary lawmakers on board.

The sponsors of this bill, along with the governor's Office of Health Policy and Finance, deserve credit for finally acknowledging the necessity of reforming Maine's health insurance market including changing our disastrous "community rating" laws. There are only four other states that have these strict health insurance regulations and the residents of these states pay the highest premiums in the nation.

Maine's community rating law requires all premiums to vary only a small amount, regardless of the policy holder's age, health or habits. It sounds great - in theory. In reality you have a system that subsidizes the older, less-healthy, yet often-wealthier people with artificially high premiums paid by younger and healthier people. Healthy young people and families drop out of the market because they can't afford the high premiums. The result is called adverse selection - more unhealthy people concentrated in Maine's insurance pool, resulting in higher rates on those who remain. The cycle continues until we find Maine in what is known as a health insurance death spiral.

Unfortunately, the health insurance market reforms and changes to our community rating laws contained in LD 2247 are minimal and considered by many to be too weak to bring competition back into Maine's insurance market or to have any real effect on our ever-increasing premiums.

There are, however, two other health insurance reform bills waiting in the legislative wings. One is LD 1760, An Act to Restore Competition to Maine's Health Insurance Market, by Rep. Don Pilon (D-Saco). The other is LD 1047, An Act to Lower the Cost of Health Insurance, by Rep. Mike Vaughan (R-Durham). Both of these are true market reform bills and would implement laws that have proven very effective in other states and would not be just another experiment. Rep. Pilon's bill would use a successful system used in Idaho, and Rep. Vaughan's bill would implement reforms that have been successful in 34 other states.

Rep. Pingree, the majority leader in the Maine House of Representatives, along with her co-sponsor, the majority leader in the Maine Senate, understand that their constituents, and many of their rank-and-file members of the Legislature, favor health insurance market reform, including the necessary changes to our community rating law. They have resisted moving in this direction for years. Besieged by angry constituents, they are finally willing to acquiesce, but only slightly, and only if they can get a these two new taxes to support Dirigo.

There are several ways to create new laws in Maine. Most, quite simply, involve having a good idea that a majority of the Legislature and the governor can support. Another way is to make a deal - I'll support your bill if you support mine.

The latter is not the best way to legislate and the Maine people understand this. Each idea should be able to stand on its own through the legislative process, be thoroughly vetted and either supported or rejected based on its own merits. Trading one unpopular bill for another or combining two very different ideas in one bill in order to gain more acceptance, such as LD 2247, not only results in poor legislation but undermines the democratic process.

State Representative Jonathan McKane represents Edgecomb, Ne w castle, Damariscotta, Bristol, South Bristol and Monhegan. He is serving his second term and is a member of the Insurance and Financial Services Committee. For more information, statistics and solutions to Maine's health insurance woes, visit

www.jonmckane.com

. Contact him for more information on this or any other issue at 563-5427 or by e-mail at

Jon@JonMcKane.com

.