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Amend the bill in Part B in section 1 in §372 by inserting after the first indented paragraph and before subsection 1 the following:
 
‘1.  Purpose and principles of the Maine Health Care Plan.     The plan has the following purpose and must reflect the following human rights principles.
 
A.  The purpose of the plan is to provide, as a public good, comprehensive, affordable, high-quality, publicly financed health care for the people of the State in a seamless and equitable manner regardless of income, assets, health status, employment or availability of other health insurance coverage.
 
B.  The State shall ensure that the plan reflects the following human rights principles.
 
(1) The plan must guarantee universal access to high-quality, comprehensive, medically necessary health services for all people of this State. Systemic barriers, such as cost, may not prevent people from obtaining necessary health care.
 
(2) The plan must be publicly and equitably financed.
’
 
(3) The plan must be transparent in design, efficient in operation and accountable to the people it serves. The State must ensure public participation in the design, implementation, evaluation and accountability mechanisms of the health care system.
Amend the bill in Part B in section 1 in §372 by renumbering the subsections to read consecutively.
Amend the bill in Part F in section 1 in subsection 3 by inserting after paragraph A the following:
 
‘
B. Consistency with the principle of equity, as expressed in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 372, subsection 1, paragraph B to ensure that an individual's payment for health care is a direct function of that individual's income and increases based on the individual's ability to pay;
’
Amend the bill in Part F in section 1 in subsection 3 by relettering the paragraphs to read consecutively.
 
SUMMARY
This amendment is the minority report of the committee. The amendment adds language to require that the Maine Health Care Plan established in the bill reflect human rights principles in its development.