Maine

Maine spends more money per capita on health care than most states, and the costs keep going up.

• Maine spent around $8.6 billion on health care in 2004.¹
• Maine's health care bill keeps going up, an astonishing 8% average annual increase between 1991 and 2004.²
• Maine spent $6,540 per capita in 2004, higher than the national average of $5,283.³
• The highest per capita spending in 2004 occurred in Maine, along with Massachusetts, New York, Alaska, and Connecticut, with spending 20% or more above the national average.⁴
• For workers covered by an employer-based health plan, employees pay 18% ($792) and employers pay 82% ($3,498). Nationally, employees also pay 18%, an average of $723.⁵
• Family premiums cost far more. Employees in Maine contribute 29% of the cost, an average of $3,303 every year. Nationally, employees pay an average of $2,585 (24%) for family coverage. The cost of family premiums increased at a far higher rate than incomes (27.3% between 2001 and 2005, while median income for families purchasing family coverage increased only 9.52%).⁶
• Despite Maine's best efforts, 10% of people remain uninsured without help in a state with among the highest costs for care.⁷
• Over two-thirds of uninsured people (67%) live in families with at least one full time worker.⁸

Maine spends more in part because Maine is a leader among states in providing access to insurance and care for most of its residents.

• 90% of people have some kind of health insurance coverage, far higher than the national average of 84%.⁹ In Portland, roughly 92% have health insurance.¹⁰
• People who buy health insurance for themselves or their small business cannot be excluded due to health condition, and costs are spread as widely as possible through community rating.¹¹
• Maine has an insurance premium assistance program for small employers (DirigoChoice). Participating small business employers can purchase insurance at more affordable rates and must contribute 60% of employees' premiums. ¹²
• Whereas nearly half (46%) of adults living in poverty lack insurance nationwide, only 25% of adults living in poverty in Maine are uninsured. Maine uses Medicaid to cover people.¹³
• A higher percent of women get early prenatal care in Maine than elsewhere (88.5% compared to 83.8% on average) and give birth to fewer low birth-weight babies.¹⁴ According to DirigoHealth, Maine's statewide health initiative, Maine has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the nation.¹⁵
• Maine spends more than three times the national average on community and home-based care which helps keep people out of nursing homes.¹⁶
• 88.3% of Portland area residents rate their health as good to excellent.¹⁷

Despite higher costs, too many patients in Maine are injured by unsafe care.

• An estimated 8,000 to 16,000 people admitted to the hospital in 2006 suffered an infection due to their medical care. Hospital infections can cause permanent disability or death.¹⁸
• Although the true number of patients harmed by medical errors in each state is a well-kept secret, the Institute of Medicine estimates as many as 98,000 Americans die from these preventable mistakes each year.¹⁹ These errors range from doing surgery on the wrong part of the body to serious bed sores to getting the wrong dose of medication.²⁰

Maine faces some challenges, particularly with chronic disease, long term care, and the uninsured.

• Maine has the highest rates of chronic diseases (cancer, heart and lung disease, and diabetes) in New England.²¹
• According to the Center for Disease Control, Maine has a higher than average cancer death rate.²²

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