I find it strange that the extolled Dirigo health plan requires $225,000 for advertising to sell it (Aug 18). If it really had merit, employers and others would be knocking down the door.

The truth is, the plan has a faulty basis and will be much more expensive than the sellers will admit. The $225,000 comes as a dividend from principal funds from a foundation created by the sale of our non-profit Blue Cross-Blue Shield to a for-profit company, Anthem. The foundation is controlled by Gov. Baldacci appointees who believe that promoting health care with this dividend is defined as paying for ads for Dirigo.

The excessive expense of health care insurance in Maine comes from the following sources: failure to create a high-risk pool, an extraordinary number of mandated coverages and the certificate-of-need law. Other states that have a high-risk pool, fewer mandated coverages and no certificate-of-need law have quicker care and lower health care costs. Their insurance premiums cost about half of ours.

The current administration’s philosophy of controlling health care costs is to ration care by limiting facilities. This is fallacious thinking, noting costs in the other states which have taken the opposite approach.

Maine Republicans have proposed all of the solutions, but the majority party has defeated these proposals in order to continue their socialist agenda.

Rep. Thomas F. Shields, Auburn

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