Category: Maine News

In February and March 2020, the municipalities of Bangor, Blue Hill and Penobscot approved resolves that request the Maine Legislature “to create an equitable health plan that provides every Maine resident with comprehensive medical care from birth to death.” The Bangor resolve was passed without debate during the February 10th council meeting, at which several Maine AllCare members were present.   The Blue Hill resolve was approved 9...

COVID-19 hits home Recently our Field Director, Abbie Ryder, experienced what is presumed to have been COVID-19. Her harrowing experience shows how serious COVID-19 is, right here in Maine, and cuts right to the heart of why Maine AllCare is working for health care reform–no one should ever have to think about the threat of medical bills when they or someone they love needs care. Thankfully, Abbie...

Maine AllCare’s Beth Franklin was the final speaker during “Our Lives on the Line” a live 67-minute digital town hall, organized by a group called Health Care Voter and held on Facebook on April 14, 2020.  During the town hall, all of the speakers agreed that healthcare is a human right,  and they stated that “universal access” was something they would champion. Rep. Heather Sanborn described how...

Life during a Pandemic We want to thank all of the nurses, doctors, healthcare workers, public health experts, and scientists for rising to the occasion in these extraordinary times. There are no words to adequately express our gratitude. May you stay well, and may we reach a better healthcare system on the other side of this crisis. Maine AllCare’s long-term goal is an improved health care system...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 
February 26, 2020 AUGUSTA, Maine — We hear a lot about healthcare and healthcare reform on the national stage these days. But what do Mainers experience with healthcare today, and what do they think about our current system? To try to answer these questions, Maine AllCare asked people from around the state about the accessibility and affordability of healthcare in a survey done in...

BANGOR COUNCIL PASSES HEALTHCARE RESOLUTION: Becomes First Municipality in Maine since 2001 to Support Equitable Healthcare Bangor, Maine The Bangor City Council has approved unanimously a resolution urging  the Maine Legislature to create an equitable healthcare system for the state and all its residents. The passing of the resolution, initially presented by members of the Bangor chapter of Maine AllCare, makes Bangor the first municipality in Maine...

Note: this news article was originally published in the Machias Valley News Observer on January 6, 2020, and is reprinted here in full, with permission from the publisher. by Ruth Leubecker An all-encompassing healthcare proposal could save Maine $1.5 billion in healthcare spending, according to a new analysis released by Maine AllCare. “When every Mainer is covered, and there is never a bill to patients. When doctors...

January 2020 News Historic sea change in physician support for universal health care In a report published on January 21, 2020, in the Annals of Internal Medicine, The American College of Physicians endorsed structural health care reform to achieve universal healthcare via two potential paths–a single-payer system or a publicly funded option offered alongside regulated private insurance. The report, “Envisioning a Better US Health Care System for...

Not only would a universal healthcare system provide coverage for all Mainers, it would save the state roughly $1.5 billion dollars per year, according to a recently released analysis by the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP). The analysis, conducted on behalf of MaineAllCare, was the subject of a Dec. 16 hearing before the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance, and Financial Services. MaineAllCare, a...