Consumers for Affordable Health Care’s mission is to advocate for Maine people to be heard, respected, and well-served in a health system that provides coverage, access and quality, affordable care to all. We envision a Maine where all have the right to a healthy and financially secure future that is not threatened by the cost of health care. CAHC values integrity, compassion, equity, pragmatism, determination and collaboration.
In 1988 the Consumers for Affordable Health Care (CAHC - pronounced cake) Coalition is formed to fight for better, more affordable care.
1989 CAHC helped design and pass the Maine Health Program, which served thousands of low income adults in Maine.
1990 CAHC led the campaign for a first in the nation state law to ban insurance coverage denials of coverage based on pre-existing conditions. Maine’s “Continuity of Coverage” law was a model for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
1992 CAHC spearheaded the end of individual and small group rate setting based on gender or health status. Maine became 1 of 5 states to require community rating limits on rates insurers could charge older people.
1994 CAHC led and won the fight for guaranteed issuance and renewal of health policies for individuals and small groups. Insurers can no longer refuse or cancel coverage, except for failure to pay.
1995 CAHC helped extend the right to fair hearings with Maine DHHS for people denied hospital free care
1997 CAHC’s Executive Director, Joe Ditre, challenged the proposed sale of Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) to a for-profit corporation and won a historic decision by the Superintendent of Insurance that the assets of of the sale were owned by the people of Maine. CAHC and allies then helped pass legislation that required all of the assets resulting from a sale or conversion of BCBS be placed in a charitable trust for the people of Maine.
1997 CAHC led the campaign to adopt fair rules protecting people in managed care plans. Rule Chapter 850 established limits on how far insurance companies could make people travel for care, required managed care plans to have adequate provider networks, and created rights to appeal denials of coverage.
1997 CAHC led the effort to broaden continuity of coverage protections for consumers with pre-existing conditions who lost coverage due to unemployment. Maine was the only state in the US that provided this protection to consumers.
1997 The birth of CAHC’s statewide, toll-free Consumer Assistance HelpLine. 1-800-965-7476
1998 CAHC worked to expand Medicaid coverage to more children and prescription drug coverage for older Mainers.
1999 CAHC led the campaign to protect and preserve assets held by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maine, after it announced its proposed sale to Anthem. The Superintendent of Insurance forced Anthem to increase the amount it had to place into a charitable trust for the people of Maine. $81.6 million dollars was placed in a charitable trust, which was $1.19Million more than Anthem had proposed.
1999 CAHC helped create the “Cub Care” program which expanded Medicaid coverage to children in families with incomes up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.
2000 CAHC led the campaign to pass the Patient’s Bill of Rights that protects consumers and providers in HMO and managed care plans.
2000 CAHC’s Board President, Dr. John Marvin, worked with then Senate Majority Leader Chellie Pingree to design and enact the first-in-the-nation discount drug program called Maine Rx. Pharma sued Maine but the US Supreme Court upheld Maine’s drug rebate program which then became a model for other states.
2001 CAHC helped expand Medicaid coverage to include single adults and couples without children at home.
2001 CAHC helped defeat attempts to repeal standardized individual health plans and laws that protect older consumers and consumers with pre-existing medical conditions. CAHC also helped develop the extension of health insurance coverage to domestic partners.
2001 CAHC’s Executive Director was requested to participate in Speaker Saxl’s Working Group on L.D. 1770, which drafted Amendments to the Maine Nonprofit Corporation Act, protecting nonprofit assets during conversion transactions.
2002 CAHC helped defeat attempts by insurers to eliminate consumer protections that limit the distance insurers can require consumers to travel for care - Rule Chapter 850. CAHC led the campaign to enact the Small Business Health Care Coverage Plan – a precursor to the Dirigo Health Program.
2003 CAHC helped develop and support enactment of the Dirigo Health Program, Governor Baldacci’s first-in-the-nation subsidized insurance program, spearheaded by Trish Riley. Dirigo established important first steps to control costs and improve quality.
2003 CAHC participated in a broad coalition that supported passage of the most comprehensive mental health parity legislation in the nation.
2007 Consumers for Affordable Health Care and the Office of the Attorney General won a significant legal victory in the Maine Supreme Court that upheld the legality of the Dirigo Health Program.
2007 CAHC staff presented to more than 33,000 people at 61 separate events in every county of Maine. Our Consumer HelpLine assisted over 2,000 people.
2008 CAHC helped it’s 10,000th Mainer on its Consumer Health Care HelpLine.
2009 CAHC and its Coalition partners launched “A Call to Action on Health Care Reform 2009: The Transparency Imperative” and won landmark victories for Mainers by enacting a Health Care Bill of Rights to improve transparency in the private insurance market, and enhanced consumer protections for Mainers.
2010 CAHC and its Coalition partners launched “Don’t Cap My Care” Campaign which helped pass a first-in-the nation measure to eliminate lifetime and annual caps from health insurance plans. The bipartisan bill went into effect January 1, 2011 giving Mainers relief from annual caps three years before the ACA.
2010 The Maine Attorney General and the Maine Superintendent designate CAHC as the Maine Health Insurance Consumer Assistance Program.
2011 The Health Care for Maine (HC4ME) is formed. HC4ME is an alliance, of health care advocacy organizations including CAHC, working to ensure that every person in Maine has access to high quality, affordable health care.
2011 CAHC launched the Small Business Training Series, “Get the Facts”, educating employers on health insurance terminology and newly offered tax credit options through the ACA.
2012 CAHC filed an Amicus Curie brief in the ME Supreme Court case that upheld Superintendent Kofman’s 2011 decision that reduced Anthem’s requested profit margin from 3% to 1%, and reduced their overall rate request from 9.8% to 5.2%, saving the Maine people over $3 million.
2012 CAHC released “Few Winners, Many Losers”, a report which evaluated the impact of key provisions of Maine’s new Health Insurance Law PL2011, Chapter 90.
2013 CAHC provided training to over 4,300 people at businesses, health care, social service organizations navigators and assisters, about the Affordable Care Act.
2014 CAHC’s Certified Application Counselor staff broke records with 6,723 incoming calls helping Mainers understand the Health Insurance Marketplace, MaineCare and Medicare programs.
2015 By assisting Maine people with private insurance appeals, CAHC helped consumers receive coverage for vital medical services worth over $430,000.
2016 CMS awarded CAHC a two-year grant through the Connecting Kids to Coverage outreach and enrollment grant program.
2016 Legislature passes MaineCare Ombudsman legislation (LD1498) requiring the Maine DHHS to contract with a Maine nonprofit to provide ombudsman services to people with MaineCare.
2016 CAHC released the toolkit, “Do it yourself health insurance appeal: a step by step guide to exercising your rights”.
2017 CAHC and partners help to preserve the ACA and pass Medicaid expansion.
2018 EqualityMaine honored CAHC with the Partner for Equality Award for CAHC’s commitment and work on improving access to health care for LGBTQ Mainers.
2018 CAHC helped pass LD1406 to increase prescription drug cost transparency.
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