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Topic: Dirigo

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	The Governor's Health Plan: Dirigo Health (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-16)
		Dirigo is a "middle man" that contracts with insurance carriers through a competitive bidding process, rather than a traditional health insurance company.
		In extending insurance coverage, Dirigo aims squarely at a major health care cost driver: costs that hospitals and physicians pass on to those who are insured in order to pay for the uncompensated costs of the uninsured.
		However, it is clear that Dirigo Health will be responsible for extending coverage to the uninsured, and that this will significantly reduce the amount of uncompensated care borne by hospitals and physicians.
	www.mecep.org /MEChoices03/ch_033.htm (3384 words)

	Dirigo Maine Coon Cats
		The Dirigo bloodline is recognized world-wide as a
		"Dirigo" is the official motto of the State of Maine.
		The name Dirigo is recognized by us Maine natives to mean "of Maine" in the common usage.
	www.geocities.com /Heartland/2250/dirigo.html (1154 words)

	Small business benefits from Dirigo health plan
		Dirigo Health Reform is a courageous effort by Gov. John E. Baldacci and the Legislature to reduce health care costs, increase access to health care and ensure quality of care for all Mainers.
		Dirigo is a choice for a reform process that will reduce the staggering increases in health care costs across the state.
		Dirigo is a choice that will subsequently reduce the burden on the state's budget and the individual budgets of small businesses in Maine.
	www.centralmaine.com /view/columns/261313.shtml (387 words)

	SCI: profiles in coverage: Maine Dirigo
		Dirigo Health Reform is a statewide health system reform that recognizes that health reform is a long-term undertaking.
		Dirigo Health Reform engages stakeholders and the state of Maine to rationalize the health care system, ensure appropriate incentives, and build a stronger health care system that serves all Mainers.
		By relying on the same carrier, Dirigo Health ensures that workers (and their dependents) who move in and out of MaineCare eligibility but who are working for a Dirigo participating employer will be able to stay in the same plan with the same participating providers.
	www.statecoverage.net /maineprofile2.htm (2368 words)

	Dirigo Health, by Sharon Anglin Treat, Michael Brennan, Ann Woloson
		In the long run, Dirigo Health is designed to rely not only on employer/employee premiums for financing but also on savings that are expected to accrue to Maine's health care system by reducing the amount of health care currently provided to the uninsured.
		Dirigo Health has several cost-containment measures, which are critical to the success of the program over time.
		Dirigo Health will provide many of these people with an affordable option that will allow them to access health care prevention and other medically necessary care that they now forgo because of high deductibles.
	www.umaine.edu /mcsc/mpr/Vol12No3/Treat/Treat.htm (4908 words)

	Dirigo Health Now! a coalition with a plan
		Dirigo Health, a nationally recognized program that prices plans on ability to pay, was created a year ago by the governor's health reform law of the same name.
		Dirigo Health, he said, is a fiscally irresponsible initiative at a time of budget deficits, and of questionable benefit to employers that are looking to save money.
		Dirigo plans to offer a $1,250-deductible plan to a single employee for $282 a month or $846 for an employee with a spouse and children; employers are asked to pay at least 60 percent of costs for the employee only.
	news.mainetoday.com /indepth/healthcare/040615dirigo.shtml (705 words)

	Boston.com / News / Local / Maine / Coalition to press for full implementation of Dirigo Health (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-16)
		Dirigo is Maine's program to make health care accessible to the state's 138,000 uninsured residents by 2009.
		Dirigo is scheduled to begin enrolling customers later this summer.
		In its first year, the Dirigo Health Plan will be available to businesses with 50 or fewer eligible employees, the self-employed and individuals.
	www.boston.com /news/local/maine/articles/2004/06/14/coalition_to_press_for_full_implementation_of_dirigo_health?mode=PF (321 words)

	Public Laws of 2003 as Passed at 1st Regular Sess. of 121st Legislature
		Dirigo Health may establish a separate minimum contribution level to be paid by employers toward coverage for dependents of the employers' enrolled employees.
		Dirigo Health may establish sliding-scale subsidies for the purchase of Dirigo Health Insurance paid by individuals or employees whose income is under 300% of the federal poverty level and who are not eligible for MaineCare.
		Dirigo Health may limit the amount subsidized of the payment made by individual plan enrollees under section 6910, subsection 4, paragraph C to 40% of the payment to more closely parallel the subsidy received by employees.
	janus.state.me.us /legis/ros/lom/LOM121st/10Pub451-500/Pub451-500-109.htm (7636 words)

	FAQs & Glossary of Dirigo Health Terms
		An important part of Dirigo Health reform includes the creation of a new health program designed to be affordable to all of Maine's uninsured citizens.
		Dirigo Health is working with industry and advocacy leaders on developing a State Health Plan to strategically guide future investments in health services statewide.
		After year one of operation, the Dirigo Health Plan will be funded in part by an assessment on the gross premium revenues of insurers not to exceed 4% and by an assessment, to be determined, on third-party administrators, Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements, and self-funded employee health plans.
	www.dirigohealth.maine.gov /dhsp01d.html (982 words)

	FCHN :: Amendment to Dirigo Health bill (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-16)
		Dirigo Health is established as an independent executive agency to arrange for the provision of comprehensive, affordable health care coverage to eligible small employers, including the self-employed, their employees and dependents, and individuals on a voluntary basis.
		Dirigo Health is also responsible for monitoring and improving the quality of health care in this State.__ The exercise by Dirigo Health of the powers conferred by this chapter must be deemed and held to be the performance of essential governmental functions.
		Dirigo Health may not provide access to health insurance by establishing a nonprofit health care plan or through an existing public plan without specific legislative approval.
	www.fchn.org /DirigoHealth/LD161103.asp (3639 words)

	Dirigo Pines
		Dirigo Pines is in the university town of Orono, Maine.
		Nearby is the acclaimed Maine Center for the Arts and all of the facilities and sports events of the University of Maine campus.
		There is also easy access to Interstate 95 from Dirigo Pines, and Bangor International Airport is just nine miles away.
	www.dirigopines.com /location.html (309 words)

	Dirigo board seeks bidders
		The Dirigo Health program, enacted by the Legislature last year, is designed to expand access to affordable insurance coverage by 2009 to all Mainers who need it.
		The Dirigo board's vote came nine months after the Legislature enacted a bill creating the state-private venture, which is considered the nation's most far-reaching attempt at universal health care.
		Some of the sample prices through Dirigo could include monthly premium costs as low as $260 for a single adult and $780 for a family of four, and discounts of up to 40 percent of monthly payments for those under 300 percent of the federal poverty line.
	news.mainetoday.com /indepth/healthcare/040326dirigo.shtml (413 words)

	NOW. Science & Health. Maine Health Reform Debate \| PBS
		In June 2003, Maine Governor John E. Baldacci signed into law the Dirigo Health Reform Act, with the goal of providing all Maine's citizens with access to healthcare by 2009.
		According to the Governor's Web site, "Dirigo Health won unanimous support from the Joint Select Committee on Health Care Reform and 2/3 majorities in both chambers of the Legislature." But support for the plan is not quite as overarching today.
		Under the original compromise that established the Dirigo Health Program, those savings are to be captured...and put into discounts on health care coverage in order to provide Maine's hardworking small business owners and working families with increased access to affordable quality health care.
	www.pbs.org /now/science/dirigodebate.html (1233 words)

	The Ellsworth American. - Dirigo Debate
		Signed into law in June 2003, Dirigo Health is Governor John Baldacci’s initiative to bring down the cost of health care, improve the quality of care and provide reliable and sustainable health care coverage for all Maine residents.
		At issue is the “savings offset payment” contained in the Dirigo Health plan established in 2003 through collaboration among Maine hospitals, insurers, the state Chamber of Commerce and the Governor’s office.
		Dirigo architect Trish Riley, director of the Governor’s Office for Health Policy and Finance, stood fast: “In Maine we don’t wait for a ship to come in.
	ellsworthmaine.com /site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1826&Itemid=31 (587 words)

	Dirigo Tax Bills Go Out, 2007 Negotiations Begin
		As the bills go out for what's becoming known as the Dirigo tax to keep the state's subsidized health insurance plan alive this year, officials will be negotiating the size of the 2007 assessment - making the controversial program a key issue in the race for governor.
		While no one knows how much the state will request in 2007, the program is projected to grow to include not only people in the state's subsidized insurance plan known as DirigoChoice, but up to 10,000 new enrollees in straight Medicaid under which participants don't have to pay any part of their healthcare costs.
		The administration has tried to sell the notion that the assessment is really just an offset to savings in the healthcare system brought about by a reduction in bad debt and charity care and a voluntary cap on profits at the state's hospitals.
	boothbayregister.maine.com /2006-01-19/dirigo_health_insurance.html (1059 words)

	Lincoln County News
		Dirigo needs about $40 to $45 million in the next calendar year to keep going, based on enrollment projections that are not firm.
		Trish Riley, the head of the governor’s office of Health Police and Finance, said while the amount needed to keep Dirigo going in 2006 is close to the maximum amount the legislation allows the state to raise, her group is not trying to force the numbers to work.
		Dirigo Health agency advocates want to look at savings made by hospitals adhering to voluntary caps on profit and expense growth.
	www.mainelincolncountynews.com /index.cfm?ID=13988 (1213 words)

	Maine's premier team? Look under 'Dirigo RC'
		For Dirigo, Freeport's Spaulding (last year's Maine Beach to Beacon champion) ran 1:08:15; Ethan Hemphill of Portland ran 1:09:47; Todd Coffin of Freeport ran 1:09:54; Christian Muentener of Augusta ran 1:12:16; and Robert Ashby of Brunswick ran 1:14:40.
		The Dirigo team in full, in addition to those already mentioned: Scott Brown of Lewiston, Kevin Way of Hollis, Dave Nelson of Lincoln, Paul Johnson of Gorham, Mike Payson of Falmouth and Dave Weatherbie and Pete Bottomley of Cape Elizabeth.
		But Dirigo still has most of Maine's top male racers - for example Nelson, a Chicago native, is a 2:19 marathoner who ran in the Olympic Trials and is just returning to competition - and some formidable masters competitors.
	sports.mainetoday.com /running/rolfe/020324colrun.shtml (1020 words)

	Dirigo Health Reform - Affordable access to high quality health care
		Dirigo Health Reform… Affordable access to high quality health care for all Maine people.
		Dirigo Health contains costs, ensures high quality health care, and increases access for Maine's working people and families through DirigoChoice health coverage.
		Dirigo Health is a long-term solution that pays for itself.
	www.dirigohealth.maine.gov /dhlp01.html (157 words)

	Deep Blade Journal (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-16)
		I have posted before about what the Dirigo Health program means to me. It's getting even more meaningful, as additional issues have been popping up lately.
		One of these clouds comes in the form of Maine Republican gubernatorial challenger Peter Mills, who was quoted in November, ``Dirigo was a risky experiment, and it failed,...the proper thing to do is to stop enrollment right now and let this thing wither away''.
		Without Dirigo, I never would have gone in for any of the exams and tests I've had that may well be what saves my life in the next few months.
	deepblade.net /journal/2006/01/save-dirigo.html (380 words)

	Anthem emerges as sole Dirigo bidder (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-16)
		A spokesman for the Governor’s Office of Health Policy and Finance said it was no surprise to see a single bid for the Dirigo plan, even though state officials had hoped for competing bids.
		Anthem’s Dirigo insurance coverage would be designed as a preferred provider plan, with deductibles of $1,250 and $1,750 offered to small businesses in the first year.
		Discounts will be given to members with household incomes less then 300 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $28,000 a year for a household of one and $56,500 for a household of four.
	www4.fosters.com /june_2004/june_12_04/news/ap_0612c.asp (370 words)

	Command and Control: Maine's Dirigo Health Care Program
		Dirigo Health has three major elements: a massive Medicaid expansion; a state-designed, state-subsidized health insurance plan sold primarily to small employers and the self-employed; and a comprehensive and far-reaching set of new regulations and controls over the private health care and health insurance industries in Maine.
		Therefore, to persuade the legislature to pass Dirigo Health, the governor needed to present the program in a way that would be “cost neutral” to Maine taxpayers.
		If Dirigo Health eliminates the uninsured as Dirigo proponents argue it will, Maine health care providers would no longer have to assume these costs, and these “savings” could be passed along to the state to help finance the Dirigo Health reform.
	www.heritage.org /Research/HealthCare/bg1878.cfm (8203 words)

	Lincoln County News
		Henderson, who sits on the Dirigo board and voted for the subsidy cut, said she worried some individuals would drop their insurance, but understood the financial necessity of the decision.
		In addition to cutting back the subsidy, the Dirigo board also has agreed to put an asset test in place for all those who request a subsidy, from individuals to employees in small companies.
		The two cost-saving measures are designed to stretch the Dirigo dollar until the state can start collecting assessments on private insurance companies and the self-insured to fund the program through 2006.
	www.mainelincolncountynews.com /index.cfm?ID=14397 (711 words)

	The News@Ellsworth American.com \|
		AUGUSTA — The Dirigo Health insurance program is considering changing benefits and requiring future participants to declare their assets before qualifying for discounts to cut costs in a program that is running through money.
		The B group was budgeted at 3 percent of the total versus 42 percent, and its 80 percent subsidies have to be state funded.
		That prompted the Dirigo Health board on Monday to grill Anthem, which is administering the program in partnership with the state, on whether enough is being done to market to small businesses.
	www.ellsworthamerican.com /archive/2005/08-04-05/ea_state1_08-04-05.html (906 words)

	Dirigo Alliance Home Page (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-16)
		ABOUT US The Dirigo Alliance is a permanent coalition of sixteen Maine organizations, with a combined membership of nearly 100,000 Maine citizens.
		Dirigo has endorsed over 300 candidates for the Maine House and Senate, US Senate, US Congress, gubernatorial and municipal elections.
		Since Dirigo began endorsing candidates in 1988, Dirigo candidates have won over 70 percent of their races.
	www.dirigoalliance.net (122 words)

	Dirigo Drive
		Construction on Brewer's Dirigo Drive, a new 1.6-mile road that runs parallel to Wilson Street and Interstate 395, kicked off on Wednesday.
		The benefits of the new roadway are twofold, Mayor Michael Celli said Wednesday during a ceremony at the junction of Dirigo Drive and Sparks Avenue.
		Dirigo Drive runs from Parkway South to Wilson Street near the junction of I-395.
	www.brewerme.org /economicdev/dirigodrive/dirigo_drive0504.htm (547 words)

	Dirigo Health will lead us forward - Soap Box
		Dirigo Health was launched in 2003 with the goal of insuring all Maine citizens by 2009.
		Dirigo is working, and the Maine Legislature is trying to expand these services so that more Mainers can be insured.
		Because more Mainers now have health care with Dirigo, the health insurance companies are fighting it, and want to see Dirigo fail.
	media.www.mainecampus.com /media/storage/paper322/news/2006/02/16/SoapBox/Dirigo.Health.Will.Lead.Us.Forward-1616892.shtml?sourcedomain=www.mainecampus.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com (389 words)

	Old Town Dirigo 106 Kayak (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-16)
		The new Dirigo Family of recreational kayaks offers a large open cockpit featuring the new Extrasport Outfitting System seat with deck adjustment, integrated deck console with thigh control panels, and Old Town's exclusive rear space hatch that can be opened while in the boat.
		The Dirigo 106 is designed specifically for the recreational paddler looking for a good boat at an equally reasonable price.
		Although shorter boats are usually less "tracky" the stabil-form hull design gives this boat a combination of stability, trackiness and maneuverability that set it apart from the competition.
	www.clavey.com /ky_ot_dirigo_106.html (231 words)

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