MeHAF Awards $495,600 for Health Care Advocacy

November 29, 2011

Four Organizations Receive Grants to Provide Expertise on Reform Efforts

Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF) has awarded a total of $495,600 in grants to four Maine organizations working to ensure that the interests of uninsured and medically underserved Maine people are represented as state executive branch policy makers develop rules to guide the implementation of new laws, including the state’s new health insurance reform law (Public Law, Chapter 90) and key portions of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA). MeHAF funding will also support the government-to-government consultation processes between the Tribal Nations and the state.

Organizations receiving grants for their work over the next two years include:

•    Consumers for Affordable Health Care Foundation: $125,000
•    Indian Township Tribal Government: $125,000
•    Maine Equal Justice Partners: $124,882
•    Maine Medical Education Trust: $120,750

Passed during the last legislative session, Maine’s Public Law, Chapter 90 reforms state health insurance regulations for private insurers, and is intended to expand consumer choice and reduce the cost of private coverage.   Nationally, the ACA sets a federal framework for state implementation of many provisions including the health insurance exchanges where individual consumers and small businesses may compare products and buy private coverage – another tool intended to expand consumer choice and reduce the cost of coverage.  The ACA also requires states to establish government-to-government consultation processes for the Tribal Nations.

“It is essential that policy decisions that affect health insurance and the provision of health care services reflect the needs of underserved and uninsured people of Maine,” said Dr. Wendy J. Wolf, President and CEO of MeHAF.

“In an environment of cascading reform efforts from both the federal government and the state, it is vital to ensure from the outset that the potential impacts of new policies created to improve access to coverage and reduce health care costs in Maine are well understood. Because of our long-term partnerships with these organizations, and given the specific focus of their projects, we know that they will bring important perspectives to the policy making process.”