Spring provides a unique opportunity to step back a bit from our hectic lives and think about what is truly important.

I wear multiple hats every day, including being a mother to two teenagers, working full time as a pediatrician, working part time as a physician advisor for Maine Quality Counts, and serving as president of the Maine Medical Association. Representing more than 3,700 members, the association’s mission is to support Maine physicians, advance the quality of medicine in Maine and to promote the health of all Maine citizens.

My reflection has led me to emphasize three basic principles of medical professionalism during my tenure as MMA president.

The first principle is patient well-being, and this remains the pinnacle of what our primary responsibility is.

The second principle is patient autonomy. We must continue to put the patient in the center of health care and the driver of their own health care.

The last principle is social justice, including fair distribution of health care resources to all citizens. It is this third principle that I would like to emphasize today because I believe we are failing in our efforts to achieve this goal for Maine citizens.

Every day in our pediatric practice in Bridgton, we see parents struggling to not only keep their children healthy, but to remain healthy themselves. Study after study and our own experience demonstrates that patients without insurance coverage wait too long to access care and that the cost of that care, when finally provided, is shifted onto the premiums of our own insurance.

We cannot fix our health care system without providing a solid system of primary care for everyone.

With the 127th Legislature now in full swing in Augusta, I encourage our representatives to think about the working families back in their districts who are without health insurance coverage. The most vulnerable group includes individuals earning less than 100 percent of the federal poverty level who do not qualify for MaineCare, but also are not eligible for a subsidy in the marketplace exchange.

With federal funds available to cover these individuals, our legislators and Gov. Paul LePage should put their best ideas forward and work together to propose a solution. Many other states, including all the other New England states, have been able to do so and I am certain a solution unique to Maine and our circumstances can be found.

In doing so, it is imperative that lawmakers on each end of the ideological spectrum seek to understand the position of those they are negotiating with. Neither Democrats nor Republicans have an exclusive claim to the “right” approach. Nor should it matter who gets credit for breaking the current impasse.

Elements of expanded coverage in Maine could include recipients of the coverage being required to pay a portion of the cost, similar to those of us who are covered by our employers.

Everyone should be covered, at least for primary care, and everyone should pay something for this coverage.

Let’s put an end to the hidden cost shift of “charity care” and bad debt to private insurers, our hospitals, health centers and private medical practices.

Insurance has always been based on the principle of broadly sharing the risk. Isn’t it time for everyone to be in the risk pool?

A very recent study by Manatt Health Solutions concluded that Maine could achieve a net savings of $25.7 million by accepting the federal funds available to expand coverage. These savings would be achieved in calendar year 2016 if the state expanded coverage in October of this year.

What are we waiting for?

Lisa Ryan, D.O., practices pediatrics at Bridgton Hospital and is president of the Maine Medical Association. She lives in Naples.