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Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.
From the very day I took office when I signed an executive order to expand MaineCare based on what 60 percent of Maine people voted to do, you know that my administration has been working to make health insurance more affordable for Maine people.
We have restored programs that reduce prescription drug costs for seniors, preserved health insurance coverage in the past, expanded coverage for dental and reproductive health services, and invested in what we have now. We are targeting the future of healthcare workforce, and direct relief to Maine’s small businesses struggling with high healthcare and health insurance costs.
In the year In March 2020, with the bipartisan support of the Legislature, I signed the Made Mine for Maine Health Coverage Act. This legislation would improve health insurance coverage and contain health insurance premiums for small businesses. Thanks to that new law, for the first time since at least 2001, we reversed the trend of steadily increasing health insurance costs for many small businesses next year.
In the year In 2023, premiums for the small group market — which serves employers with 50 or fewer employees — would decrease by an average of 0.8 percent, compared with a 12 percent increase without the plan.
That cost reduction in Maine comes as average small group premiums are rising in many other Northeast states. Rhode Island is projected to see an average increase of 11.5 percent, Vermont an average of 11.7 to 18.3 percent, Connecticut an average of 14.8 percent, and New York an average of 7.9 percent.
This reduction in the average Maine health insurance cost could not come at a better time for the many small businesses and their hardworking employees who rely on the small group market for health insurance. As Maine small businesses struggle with rising costs in the face of inflation, this is one thing they have little to worry about.
I’m proud of this progress, which builds on other investments we’re making in my jobs and recovery plan to lower health insurance costs for Maine’s small businesses. These investments include $39 million to launch the Small Business Health Insurance Premium Program, which lowers the cost of monthly health insurance premiums for small businesses and their employees.
I will continue to do everything I can to support Maine’s small businesses and entrepreneurs interested in starting a business here in Maine, especially to lower the cost of high quality health care.
If you’re looking for health insurance now, you can learn more about your coverage options on the Maine-based marketplace. Coverage ME.gov. That’s it. CoverMe.Gov.
This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.
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