December 2023

Annual Appeal

Our work toward universal health care for Maine would not be possible without your support. Whether it’s a one-time or monthly donation, every gift, at every level, keeps us going.

Thank you!

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Great news! Penobscot voters pass referendum supporting publicly funded health care for all Maine residents

A handful of small stickers in red, white, and blue that say "I Voted" scattered across a white surface.
Photo: Element5 Digital on Unsplash

We’ve been working on a pilot referendum in the town of Penobscot to give Maine voters a chance to choose health care for all:

“Shall the citizens of Penobscot call on the Maine Legislature to create a publicly funded healthcare plan that provides every Maine resident with comprehensive medical care?”

By a 2-1 margin, on November 7 Penobscot voters said “Yes.” The final count was 355 votes in favor and 173 votes opposed.

With the passage of the referendum and lessons learned along the way, Maine AllCare is working with volunteers to launch similar initiatives in towns and cities across the state, with the goal of demonstrating widespread support for a publicly funded universal health care system in Maine.

Learn more on our website. Interested in pursuing a resolution or ballot initiative in your town or city? Contact us!

“Comprehensive health care reform is unlikely at the federal level any time soon. But change is possible at the state level and Maine AllCare wants to send a clear message to our legislators to make that happen.”

–David Jolly, Maine AllCare board member

Gun violence is a public health issue.
Take action in the new year

Maine AllCare has signed on as a supporting organization of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition‘s 2024 campaign to enact four pieces of common sense gun-safety legislation:

  • Implementing universal background checks
  • Ending the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines
  • Putting in place a Red Flag law
  • Establishing a 72-hr waiting period for gun purchases

Because of the recent mass shootings in Lewiston, substantive gun safety legislation has never had a better chance of passing in Maine than it does right now. 

View of Maine State House building and dome on a sunny day with blue sky in background
AlexiusHoratius, Wikimedia Commons

What does gun safety legislation have to do with Maine AllCare’s mission of advocating for publicly funded universal health care? We know that mental health services are one essential component of a comprehensive strategy to reduce gun violence. In a universal health care system, with a focus on covering everyone and putting people over profits, mental health services would receive higher priority and better funding, and people who need these services would be better able to get them. 

Over the next legislative session we will pass along to you information about the Maine Gun Safety Coaltion’s campaign and calls to action.

Here’s the first:

Maine Gun Safety Day of Action
Maine State Capitol, Augusta
January 3, 2024
9:30 am
More information and link to sign up

Please mark your calendars for a Gun Safety Day of Action, when Mainers from across the state will demand that our legislators pass strong gun safety legislation this year. It’s time for our legislators to hear from the vast majority of Mainers who want these bills. Showing up in numbers that display the breadth and diversity of voices on our side will be vital to passing these bills, and YOUR presence is requested!

Save the date, and talk 5-10 of your friends into coming, too. Maine can’t wait for another mass shooting to happen before we pass gun safety bills that are vital to public health. The time is now!

Directions and parking information for the state house

Learn more on our website.

From Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP):

Engaging with Your Legislators 

If you were unable to attend PNHP’s Engaging with Your Legislator training last week, or if you would like to review the material, we encourage you to watch the recording HERE. And check out our toolkit:

Power analysis worksheet

Sample power analysis for Rep. Darren Soto (FL-09)

Open Secrets financial contributions to representatives

Census Bureau My Congressional District demographic information tool

Let us know when your visit is scheduled

Last year’s Medicare Advantage letter from America’s Health Insurance Plans (the bad letter)

Last year’s Medicare Advantage letter from Rep. Pramila Jayapal (the good letter)

Legislative training PowerPoint

Legislative training chat

HealMedicare.org campaign website


Don’t forget to Register for PNHP’s Jan. 11 activist call on legislative visits.

Recording and notes from our November 12 statewide meeting

Brightly colored autumn leaves of red, orange, yellow, maroon, sage green, close up.
Photo: Jeremy Thomas, Unsplash


We held our third statewide meeting on Sunday, November 12, via Zoom.

Participants joined from around the state, from Westbrook to Hallowell to Blue Hill.

On the agenda: Updates on the Penobscot ballot initiative (spoiler alert: it passed!), the Maine Medical Association’s support for publicly funded, universal health care, looking back at the last legislative session and ahead to the next, the re-introduction of the State-Based Universal Health Care Act (SBUHCA), and more.

View brief meeting notes and a recording of the meeting.

Stay tuned for info on the next statewide meeting.

Please send any suggestions, ideas, topics for upcoming meetings to info@maineallcare.org.

Thank you to all who joined!

Have you gotten your Maine AllCare bumper sticker?

Contact us and we’ll mail you one (or more)!

Turn your bottles and cans into universal health care!

Clynk is a simple way to support Maine AllCare’s work—just fill up a Clynk bag with your returnable bottles and cans, put on a MAC sticker, and drop them off at a nearby Hannaford store.

Clynk bags are available at participating Hannaford stores for a small fee. To get MAC stickers, contact us and we’ll put them in the mail to you.

Thank you to all who are participating! So far you have dropped off more than 40,000 containers to Clynk. That’s enough to fill 409 lobster traps!

 

Our Mission 

Maine AllCare promotes the establishment of publicly funded health care coverage for all Maine residents. This system must be efficient, financially sound, politically sustainable and must provide benefits fairly distributed to all. Maine AllCare advocates that health care, a basic necessity, be treated as a public good, since it is fundamental to our well-being as individuals and as a democratic nation.

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