Maine AllCare

As we move through the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, we look back on what we’ve accomplished together and what has happened in the movement for health care for all, in Maine and beyond. Below are some highlights of 2023. We look forward to connecting and working with you in the new year!

In the wise words of Ursula Le Guin,

“The exercise of imagination is dangerous to those who profit from the way things are because it has the power to show that the way things are is not permanent, not universal, not necessary.

We can have health care for all. Let’s keep imagining and working toward it together!

In January we welcomed new board member David Jolly, who brings expertise in public health, higher education, and community organizing as well as a passion for health care justice.

David is a member of the Maine Public Health Association and is one of several board members who’ve been working to build and strengthen connections with our allies in Maine and beyond.

From December 2022 through March 2023, we worked with Health Care for All Maine, our sister advocacy organization, to hold a series of Legislator Lunch & Learns on universal health care. 

Above, Bill Clark, Henk Goorhuis, Geoff Gratwick, and Phil Caper in front of the State House after one of the Lunch & Learn sessions.

 

Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) launched a new campaign to Protect Medicare and Stop ACO REACH in early 2023 and Maine AllCare joined the effort, spreading the word among our supporters and participating in a “photo petition.”

Maine AllCare supporters from across the state sent in their selfies to show their support for Medicare as physicians, citizens, Medicare beneficiaries, and voters.

As MAC chapters waned since the start of the pandemic, we’ve looked for ways to stay in touch with supporters and help people connect with each other. In April we held our first statewide virtual meeting, to offer a chance to hear updates, raise questions, and discuss news, events, and actions, with participants joining from around the state. Meetings were also held in July  and November.

Our July statewide meeting focused on celebrating Medicare’s birthday (it was signed in July 1965) and learning about how we can help protect it from privatization.

Several bills connected with health care reform were considered by the Maine Legislature in 2023, including a proposed amendment to the state constitution and the formation of a task force charged with investigating options to allow enactment of Public Law 391, which was passed by the Maine Legislature (with your help!) and became law in 2021, and which would begin the process of creating a universal health care system for Maine.

In May, Reps. Jayapal and and Dingell and Sen. Sanders introduced the 2023 Medicare for All Act in Congress, with more co-sponsors than ever before. We urged our supporters to thank Rep. Pingree for signing on, and contact Rep. Golden to push him to return to his prior support for this bill.

Consumers for Affordable Health Care released the results of a survey of Mainers’ views on health care affordability and accessibility. The results echo many of the views and experiences we hear from people around the state, and experience ourselves, and also take a step toward expressing those concerns in data. 

“You know you hear this all the time,” said [CAHC Executive Director Ann] Woloson, “people splitting pills, or not filling a prescription because they can’t afford it. It just shows us that more needs to be done.”

In September we returned to the Common Ground Country Fair for the first time since 2019. It was great to be back! We talked with many, many fair attendees, who shared their concerns about getting and affording health care, as well as their experiences as health care professionals in the current system.

Above, Phil Caper, Liz Solet, and Michael Glover at the MAC table.

 

Also in September, the Maine Medical Association released a bold policy statement on health care reform at their annual meeting, calling for a federal or state-level system of publicly funded, universal health care. Maine AllCare’s Phil Caper and Henk Goorhuis were part of the ad hoc committee that worked on this sea change in policy.

Above, Joaquin Falcon, field rep for the American Medical Association, came by the Maine AllCare table at the MMA meeting and shows his support for MAC!

On November 7, Penobscot voters passed a referendum urging the Maine Legislature to enact publicly funded universal health care—the first time such a referendum or resolution was passed at the municipal level in a general election. In 2024 and beyond, we’re working with volunteers in other towns and cities to pursue a resolution or referendum in their communities. 

Above, The Ellsworth American printed a commentary from MAC board member David Jolly, who led a group of volunteers and board members in organizing the Penobscot referendum along with two information sessions leading up to election day.

 

This fall marked the re-introduction of the State-Based Universal Health Care Act (SBUHCA) in Congress, with more co-sponsors than ever. Our allies at One Payer States are actively campaigning in support of this bill, and we urged our supporters in Maine Congressional District 2 to call and write to Rep. Golden and urge him to sign on as a co-sponsor and support the bill.

We signed on as a supporting organization with the Maine Gun Safety Coalition in December, as gun safety is a public health issue and we believe that access to mental health care for anyone who needs it would be one of the many benefits of a universal health care system.

We’re urging our supporters to take part in a Day of Action in Augusta on January 3. Learn more and sign up here. 

Photo credits, top to bottom: Royce Hardin, Alexius Horatius on Wikimedia Commons, Molly Adams on Flickr, Liz Solet, individual supporters, Karen Foster, Rod Long on Unsplash.