Letters
to the Editor
Hello
Elizabeth and Jeanne,
I
just want to thank you for running my ad last week
in color! It was an unexpected, and very much appreciated
surprise. I really enjoy advertising in The Monument.
So many people tell me that they see our ads every
week. Thank you for all the hard work you do!
Sincerely,
Laurie
Brady, Owner Brady & Associates Realty, Inc.
To the citizens of House District 105,
The
Dirigo Tax: Right now, those of you who purchase health
insurance are about to see the state tax claims of
your insurer at a rate of up to 4%. This is called
the SOP (Savings Offset Payment) The concept is that
the companies will be taxed on claims based on "savings
in the system."
So far the methodology used to determine savings has
been top secret and today the Bureau of Insurance
had hearings to evaluate the savings estimates and
to justify the tax.
Of course it is very likely that the new Dirigo tax
will be passed on to you, the insurance client.
It seems that when asked about the statistics used
in calculating the savings, when asked where the numbers
came from the answer from the Dirigo folks was, "From
statistics."
When asked if they had consulted with the hospitals,
the answer was, "No."
When asked if they had compared Maine statistics to
other states to rule out a trend, they had not.
It seems that New Hampshire hospitals have experienced
similar trends as Maine. So it appears that Dirigo
is working so well that it's creating savings in New
Hampshire as well.
When asked where the statistics came from, the answer
was "Trish Riley's office."
All this on top of news that many small businesses
are not going crazy over Dirigo due to its cost. Only
711 have signed up so far.
Your tax dollars at work.
Sincerely,
Michael Vaughan (R-Durham)
Representing District 105 - Durham, part of Lisbon
and New Gloucester
Editor's
note, the testimony and documents related to Dirigo
is posted on the Bureau of Insurance site at
http://www.state.me.us/pfr/ins/dirigo_health_filing.htm
With some testimony here and here:
http://www.state.me.us/pfr/ins/documents/Dirigo_Prefiled_Testimony_Mercier.pdf
http://www.state.me.us/pfr/ins/documents/Dirigo_Prefiled_Testimony_Sheils.pdf
