Superintendent Eric Cioppa has announced that the Maine Bureau of Insurance will be holding public information sessions regarding the federal health care reform law (ACA). Individuals seeking information about the
new federal health insurance exchanges, newly proposed plans for offering on the exchanges or other aspects for the health insurance portions of the ACA are invited to attend.
Questions about all other types of insurance are also welcome. The Bureau will address all insurance-related questions or concerns. Informational materials will be available. Meetings are slated between now and the end of the month for Portland, Bangor, Auburn and Presque Isle. Locally, the event will be held Friday, Aug. 30, at 6 p.m. at the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Campus Center in the Allagash Room.
Each session will be preceded at 5 p.m. with a public session for individuals wishing to comment on Anthem’s request to discontinue its current plans in the individual market and offer people with those plans the option of selecting one of Anthem’s newly-proposed plans.
Approximately 17,500 people in Maine are covered by one of Anthem’s current individual plans. Some of those people would be ‘grandfathered’ and able to maintain their present coverage, because they signed up for the policy prior to the ACA becoming federal law. The Bureau will hold a formal hearing on this matter on Monday, Sept. 9, at 9 a.m. in Room 208 of the Burton M. Cross State Office Building in Augusta.
Consumers with questions about the ACA can also call the Bureau of Insurance toll-free at 1-800-300-5000 or visit the agency’s website: www.maine.gov/insurance.
