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Rep. Josh Morris, R-Turner, is a small businessman and longtime member of the Legislature’s Health Coverage, Insurance, and Financial Services Committee.
From rural hospital closures to extremely high costs, health care in Maine is facing serious challenges.
But, I believe the solution to these pressing problems is not a so-called single-payer government-run health care system, despite what another BDN reader recently argued in a September column. A single-payer system would limit access to care for Mainers and carry a price tag that the state can ill afford to pay.
State government-controlled health care systems have failed again and again, and government-run health care is a risk that Maine cannot afford to take.
Simply put, do you want something as important as health care run by the state?
During my service on the Legislature’s health insurance oversight committee — most of which has been spent fighting bad ideas that make your insurance more expensive — I have seen firsthand the mess the state government could make if they were in charge of even more of our health care system.
In addition, a government-run system could rob Mainers of their choice in finding the care that works best for them. Instead of having the ability to choose where and what type of health care they need, residents could be forced into a one-size-fits-all system.
And we all know what happens to costs when choice goes away.
Moreover, with the state already reeling from hospital and clinic closures and an acute shortage of providers, a government-controlled system would likely drive more health care services out of the state. Patients could be forced into long lines as they contend for whatever limited care is left.
Despite the promises of its defenders, government-controlled health care would not bring down the costs of health care for the state. Colorado and Washington implemented “public options” — aka government-run health care — with the goal of reducing health costs, yet the opposite occurred. Both states have struggled with a nasty combination of higher-than-advertised premiums and low enrollment.
Such a program in Maine would likely bring similar, if not worse, results.
Despite the inherent drawbacks and real-world examples of failing state-controlled health care, the Maine Legislature still considered a dangerous plan last session to adopt a single-payer system. Even the Mills administration testified against the measure, highlighting its infeasibility and costs of such a plan and the disruptions to health care access that would be caused by abandoning our current system.
One more reality check: The state could very likely never afford a government-run system.
That means Mainers would have to foot the bill through tax hikes and other funding measures. At the end of the day, the Maine families will still foot the bill for the state’s gamble on their health care.
A state-controlled health system does not fix the problems we face. In fact, it would essentially throw gasoline on the fire.
While health care in Maine is already being pushed to the brink, we should pursue common-sense policies to fix our current system and build on what is working, not tear it down for a dangerous single-payer system.
