Following an 8-5 party-line vote March 5, members of the State Insurance and Financial Services Committee voted to reject Newcastle Republican Jon McKane’s nomination to the Dirigo Health Board of Trustees.
Governor Paul LePage nominated McKane, a long-time critic of Dirigo, for a seat on the board in February. McKane served four terms representing House District 51, between 2005 and 2013.
The Dirigo Health Board oversees the independent agency set up to provide affordable health care to individuals and small businesses. Dirigo was launched by then Gov. John Baldacci in 2003 with the goal of making health insurance affordable for all Mainers. It became law in 2005.
Funded largely through assessments charged to insurance companies on paid claims, the program is now being phased out as the state implements the Affordable Care Act.
The vote was quickly followed by a press release from the Maine House Democrats trumpeting the vote and underscoring McKane’s longstanding opposition to the program, and accusing McKane of making personal and derogatory remarks about board members and program administrators.
“Mr. McKane from the outset has worked to undermine this program and its mission at every turn,” said Rep. Sharon Treat, D-Hallowell, the committee’s House chair, in the release.
“Mr. McKane’s hostility toward the goals and mission of increasing access to affordable health care through this program and the Affordable Care Act go far beyond a reasonable difference of opinion that is part of a constructive debate.
“His open hostility toward the board, its administrators and the people it serves make him unqualified to help oversee this program during its transition,” Treat said.
Governor LePage responded to the Democrat’s press release with a statement of his own, praising McKane’s credentials and saying he has no plans to nominate another candidate in McKane’s stead.
“It’s clear, Democrats chose to deny a highly qualified individual because of partisan politics,” said LePage. “If legislators don’t want to approve McKane then I’ll choose to keep that seat vacant.”
In his own written testimony provided to the committee, McKane noted he opposed Dirigo as it was enacted, but he never opposed the goals of insuring more Maine residents and reducing the price of care through efficiencies of cost or care.
McKane went on to note he supported portions of the program, specifically citing the sliding scale subsidy system, and the effort to analyze the factors for some of the high costs of health care in Maine through the Maine Quality Forum.
“It is important to remember that after the 2010 elections, Republicans, myself included, did not choose to simply pull the plug on Dirigo – as many wanted,” McKane said. “We decided that at the very least, Dirigo and the tax on health claims that fund it should be phased out slowly.
“This funding for the Dirigo Choice subsidies, as this committee knows, will end as of Dec. 31st this year. That makes this position that I have been nominated for a rather short term proposition.
“For that remaining time, however, Dirigo needs to be run as efficiently as possible with the ever-dwindling remaining dollars and to keep as many Dirigo enrollees as possible covered with quality care after the subsidy money is gone.”
The committee recommended the confirmation of Gov. LePage’s two other nominees to the board – Wes Richardson of Warren and Gerry Reed of Falmouth. Like McKane, both are Republicans and former lawmakers.
The Maine Senate Republican Office released a press release from Senate Republican Leader Michael Thibodeau, R-Waldo, who, expressing disappointment with the vote said, “It is a shame that we let politics and ideology block the nomination of a qualified individual to serve the people of Maine. This is not a high watermark for this Legislature.”
The Senate is expected to vote on the committee’s recommendations on Thursday, March 7. According to Joint Rule 506, a two-thirds vote, or 24 votes, is needed to override the committee’s recommendation.
