Published by the Portland Press Herald on May 18, 2026
by William Keller, lives in Windham.
It’s school budget time. Here’s something to consider. Health insurance premiums paid by school districts have gone up significantly. In a district of over 600 employees, the increase was over $1 million for a total of almost $10 million for just the employer cost share.
Employees will also be paying premiums, deductibles and copays. The healthcare costs currently affecting school districts and employers across the state do not have to be such a significant financial burden.
Health Care for All Maine is seeking to put a Universal Health Care Resolve on the Maine state ballot for 2027. This ballot initiative directs the Maine Legislature to write and pass a plan for comprehensive, publicly funded health care coverage for every Maine resident — with cost-lowering protections, freedom to choose our provider and prompt payment to providers.
Together we can help lower school budgets and provide healthcare to all people in Maine.
This campaign is about building a system where healthcare is treated as a public good, everyone is covered, and where decisions are made by patients and providers, not insurance companies. Health Care for All Maine exists because real change is possible — but only if people like us step forward. Get involved to create a healthier, more secure and more just Maine for all of us.
Go to healthcareforallmaine.org to find out more and see how we can help make this happen. Volunteers are welcome to help at the polls and in other ways.