Universal Nightmare: Lessons From Maine

President Obama and his administration as well as the house have made things clear. They want a public option in their health care reform. Now most Americans sit wondering what this will be like and how it will affect them. However just north of Washington, like an omen is the lighthouse state of Maine, where people there know all too well about the public option.

In 2003 Maine passed "Dirigo-care" the states first attempt at a government run health care option. Dirigocare had three main (haha) elements to it that are shockingly similar to Obamacare.

1) cover the uninsured. "PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, SEPT. 12: My plan will provide more security and stability for those who have health insurance, offer quality, affordable choices to those who currently don't."

2) Paid for by government savings. "OBAMA, SEPT. 9: We've estimated that most of this plan can be paid for by finding savings within the existing health care system."

3) No new taxes. "OBAMA, FEB. 24: You will not see your taxes increased a single dime."

It was a great movement forward for universal access to health care.

"HANNAH PINGREE, D-MAINE, SPEAKER OF THE MAINE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: It was exciting. I mean, it was a step in the right direction. It was a step towards universal health care. The entire idea behind Dirigo was that health care was based on your ability to pay. So we would offer people discounts or vouchers so that they could buy insurance."

Most people liked it and thought it was very impressive.

"MIKE VIOLETTE, PORTLAND, MAINE, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: People actually were into it. It sounded beautiful. I mean, we're going to ensure 140,000 people who have never had insurance or have bad insurance. And we're going to do it in a very cost-effective fashion. What's not to like?"

However, six years later Dirigocare has shown to bee an epic failure. Tarren Bragdon at the Maine Heritage Policy Center says the program failed in practice.

"TARREN BRAGDON, MAINE HERITAGE POLICY CENTER: What happened is we set up this plan that was very, very heavily subsidized, and people flocked to it. And then, because people got something for very little cost, utilization went through the roof. And so premiums just skyrocketed, up 74 percent."

BRAGDON: Dirigo, just like what Congress is trying to do, said, "We will cover you at any time, no matter what, with no pre-existing condition exclusions." And that's what drove up costs.

People cycle on when they're sick, and they cycle off when they're healthy. They get sick again, they cycle back on. And the program is structured in a way that encourages them.

Today Dirigocare covers about 10,000 Mainers, far short of their goal of 128,000.

The plan like Obamacare was suppose to be paid for by savings. But today the system is bankrupt and the state just imposed a 2.4% tax on private insurance to pay for it, after promising it would not increase taxes.

This is just one example of government run health care in the states. And as a result most states have stayed away from the public option. It is bankrupt, it has drastically raised premiums, cheated the private sector, and raised taxes. Based on this, i think Washington may want to think before they pass their health "reform" into law.

Think, a bankrupt system with sky rocketing premiums and costs on a state with 1.3 million people is bad enough, but then to escalate that on a scale with 300 million people, that's suicide.