develop a healthcare system

A petition to put publicly funded universal healthcare on the ballot next year is gaining traction with voters.

During last week’s primary election, supporters of the initiative — which filed with the Maine Secretary of State last year — collected more than 20,000 signatures, about a third of the amount a citizen-led referendum needs to get the question on the 2027 ballot.

Federal cuts to Medicaid passed under President Donald Trump’s sweeping budget overhaul, HR1, and increasing marketplace health insurance costs have helped catalyze the effort. The more than 120 volunteers who collected signatures at polling places across the state reported overwhelming support for the initiative, according to Healthcare for All Maine field director Sophie Garner, one of the field directors for Healthcare for All Maine, the group leading the citizen initiative.

“The deteriorating healthcare in the United States and particularly rural America, and now with HR 1… it’s sort of a stress test on what’s left of the healthcare system,” said Henk Goorhuis, board chair for Healthcare for All Maine. “People are definitely hurting, and looking for something better.” 

The proposal would direct the Maine Legislature to develop a healthcare system that would ensure that all Mainers have “comprehensive, publicly funded healthcare coverage.” It should lower healthcare costs, ensure access for everyone to public and private providers of their choice, and codify payments to providers at prevailing rates. It would also direct the Legislature to establish a supervisory board to oversee the system that is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate.

If passed, Maine would be the first state in the country to develop such legislation. Other states have considered universal healthcare, but none have successfully passed a comprehensive plan.

The Legislature has discussed this before. Last year, the committee overseeing health insurance considered two bills: One that proposed a comprehensive study to analyze the costs and feasibility of a universal healthcare plan and another that included a detailed blueprint for a state-wide system that would have provided comprehensive coverage to all Maine residents. Neither passed, with the state’s affordable healthcare office testifying that there is “no path forward” for establishing such a program right now.

But proponents have argued that it is feasible. Goorhuis pointed to Canadian provinces that are smaller than Maine that operate their own public healthcare systems. 

“If you make the financing as simple as possible and straightforward, then yes, Maine could do it too,” he said.

A November 2024 report from the left-leaning Maine Center for Economic Policy found that, based on current demographics and insurance coverage, the cost of such a program would roughly equal the amount Mainers already spend, which at the time totaled $17.8 to $19.3 billion. 

Report author James Myall, a policy analyst for MECEP, told the Legislature last year that, unlike the current system, the cost of a universal, publicly-funded structure could be offset by other revenue streams, such as federal grants or increasing taxes on wealthy Mainers.