We cannot get our economy back on track without repairing the American health care system. Health care reform is not just a moral imperative, but also an economic necessity. In 2007, the U.S. economy lost as much as $207 billion as a result of the poor health and shorter lifespan of the uninsured.

Skyrocketing health care costs add to families' already overwhelming burden, threatening their health and financial security. We can do better. Solving America's health care crisis will improve quality of care, reduce costs and make businesses more competitive.

The urgent need for reform is more apparent now in Maine than ever. In the past eight years, health care premiums for family coverage have risen more than five times faster than wages. With 7% unemployed, many families are at risk of losing their health coverage. The message is clear: Maine's families urgently need Congress to take direct action on health care reform.

Supporting Facts

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• Health Insurance premiums in Maine increased by 89.7% from 2000 to 2007, while median earnings only increased a mere 16.8%. The median yearly wage in 2007 for Maine was only $25,876, but the average health care premium for a family was $13,117. This means that premiums grew 5.4 times faster than wages.


• In Maine, approximately 309,000 non-elderly people spent more than 10% of their pre-tax family income on health care costs in 2008. 87% of those people have insurance, but are underinsured. 269,000 Maine residents with insurance spent more than 10% of their pre-tax income on health care costs, and 79,000 spend more than 25% of their income.


• By 2016, projections show that Maine families will have to pay over $30,000 for health care or over 43 percent of median household income. This would represent a 76 percent increase over 2008 levels.


• In addition, more and more Maine residents have been forced into the exorbitantly expensive individual market, as unemployment reaches massive heights. As of December 2008, 50,037 Maine residents were unemployed. That reflects a loss of over 15,000 jobs statewide last year alone, increasing the state unemployment rate by more than two percentage points.


• If the state keeps losing jobs at the rate it did last year, 72,301 people in Maine will be unemployed by 2010. 44.49% of Maine residents depend on their employers for their health insurance. If nothing is done to stem the economic downturn and reform our health care system, 11,624 Maine workers will lose their current health coverage.


• While 4,453 more people will likely enroll in COBRA, which lets workers who lose their jobs continue their health benefits at their own expense, the high cost of COBRA will force an estimated 7,171 people to enroll in Medicaid, fend for themselves on the private market, or become uninsured.


• This year Maine faces a $265 million budget shortfall. The state has already issued a hiring freeze and proposed eliminating 219 existing state positions. As of 2007, 32% of all state spending has gone to Medicaid and SCHIP. $2.3 billion went to spending on Medicaid alone.


• As of 2007 there were already 16,771 uninsured children in Maine, and more than 101,385 uninsured adults. 24,616 of uninsured adults in Maine also live below the Federal Poverty Line. Maine's economy lost as much as $413 million because of the poor health and shorter lifespan of the uninsured in 2007. That equates $3,600 per uninsured Maine resident.


• Of the top 10 employers in the state of Maine, 7 of them are Healthcare Providers. According to the US Census, 78,719 individuals work in the Heath Care Sector in the state & make an average of $3,390 per month, which accounts for over $266 million in wages per month.8

The health of the American economy cannot improve without addressing the healthcare crisis. Building on the existing healthcare system, quality, affordable healthcare can be guaranteed to every American. It's the reform truly needed to rebuild Maine's economy.