LaMarche Unveils Single-Payer Health Care Plan
Green Independent gubernatorial candidate Pat LaMarche on Thursday called for the creation of a Maine health care authority. She said such an agency could administer a lifetime health care system for all Mainers, financed in part by taxes on employers.
Tax rates would be lowered if the fund reaches $500 million. |
LaMarche's plan envisions having the state petition for the release of federal Medicaid funds for incorporation into the new system and direct billing of the federal government for expenses incurred by federal employees living in Maine.
Private employer taxes would be based on wages paid to employees and the size of a business. Based on the number of employees, employers would pay between 5 and 12 percent of employees' wages to the state, with the revenue going to the health care authority, according to the plan.
Surplus revenue would build up in a rainy day fund administered by the authority. Tax rates would be lowered if the fund reaches $500 million.
