While President Barack Obama makes a stop in Maine Thursday to support his recently passed healthcare reform bill, healthcare organizations in the state say they don't expect to hear anything new from his visit.
The president is set to deliver remarks on health insurance reform at 3:30 p.m. at the Portland Expo.
“I think it’s an opportunity for the president to help market the good parts of the bill,” said Gordon H. Smith, executive vice president of the Maine Medical Association. “I think it’s a battle for the hearts and minds of the public.”
According to the White House, Obama is expected to discuss how the health reform bill signed into law last week is anticipated to end the worst practices of insurance companies, bring down costs for families and businesses and expand coverage to 32 million Americans who are currently uninsured.
“I don’t expect to learn what I can read in the bill,” said Smith. “It’ll be interesting to see what he’s promoting.”
“I’m very interested to hear what (Obama) has to say,” said David Howes, MD, CEO of Portland-based Martin’s Point Health Care. “His remarks are likely to help people calibrate their expectations on what the bill will achieve over time.”
Some aspects of health reform won't take effect for two to four years – a long and slow timeline, he said.
“This is not a bill that was just passed for the first time with a short period of debate,” Howes said. “This has been very actively debated for a very long time. At the level of details given to the public – there are 2,700 pages of them – I don’t think that’s what the public wants to hear.”
“The U.S. system is not economically sustainable,” said Howe. “The healthcare system in Maine, as in many states, is not very efficient, uneven in quality. We hear from many patients that it’s not very satisfying for them. Obama’s remarks will help encourage us to improve the (state) healthcare system.”
“The rules are going to change – around coverage and payment. It’s going to emphasize quality and will penalize the lack thereof,” he said.
Maine ranks 49th in the nation in Medicare reimbursement, according to Katie Fullam Harris, senior director of government and employer relations at Maine Health, parent company to 11 healthcare facilities in the state.
“The across-the-board to cuts to Medicare are a significant concern,” she said.
“All providers will see an impact with all the newly insured patients seeking healthcare,” said Fullam. “We are eager to participate in some of the pilots in the bill surrounding cost and payment.”
For example, the accountable care organization pilot, about which there are few details, holds promise for cost containment in the future, she said.
“Maine has tried to do some interesting things to expand healthcare. We’ve been very progressive in trying to improve access to care and public health,” said Smith. “This is what we do here. We educate Maine physicians on what is in the bill.”
“The bill builds support for primary care, and EHRs. It contains flexibility and support for new models of care and Medicare quality and effectiveness measures. It is an enormous step forward for the American people and businesses,” said Howe.
Some public protest is expected during Obama's visit. Though the state supported Obama in the presidential election, many here rely heavily on Medicare payments to afford healthcare. With large cuts to the program, patients will be set back.
“I wouldn’t expect that the tea party behavior would stretch to Maine. I really wouldn’t expect Maine people to do anything but give him a warm, respectful welcome,” said Smith.