The following recommendations have been made by the Commission to Study Maine’s Hospitals.

Public hearings on the recommendations are planned for Jan. 6 and 7 in Bangor, Portland and Augusta.

• Hospitals would no longer compete for patients, which drives up costs. Hospitals would voluntarily cooperate, collaborate and consolidate. It could mean new roles for some hospitals.

• A new tax on unhealthy foods (soda, ice cream, chips) that contribute to obesity and other problems. Money raised would allow hospitals to offer community wellness programs.

• The state would spend millions building a new electronic medical records system to cut paperwork and costs, and improve care.

• The state would encourage the federal government to boost Maine’s Medicare reimbursement to the same level as other states.

• Hospitals would issue annual public financial statements showing overall costs and what each organization gives in total compensation to their five highest-paid employees.

• Malpractice insurance, and how it affects care, would be studied.

• Hospitals would be asked to come up with ways to cut patient costs.

• Hospitals would be asked to adhere to annual profit limits of 3 percent; corporations that own hospitals would be asked to have annual profit margins no greater than 5 percent.

• Insurance companies would be allowed to cover care to consumers willing to travel longer distances to seek care, in or outside of Maine.