There is a new effort to provide a single-payer universal health care system in Maine. Health Care For All Maine is a 501(c)4 organization seeking to put a universal health care proposal on the 2027 ballot. The organization had volunteers around the state June 9 collecting signatures.

The group's goal is collecting 67, 682 signatures by the end of 2026. Byron Cortez of East Boothbay and Nancy DeSisto of Boothbay Harbor were two of the statewide volunteers seeking signatures.

According to the Health Care for All Maine website, this ballot initiative directs the Legislature to write and pass a plan for comprehensive, publicly funded health care coverage for every Maine resident—with cost-lowering protections, freedom to choose your provider, and prompt payment to providers—implemented by 2028.

In 2021, the Legislature approved a program moving toward universal care, but it failed to receive a federal waiver. Cortez said the waiver would’ve provided funding for the program. Without federal funding, the Legislature has been unable to implement it, said Cortez.

Health Care for All Maine hopes the ballot initiatve will direct state leaders to find an alternative solution if a federal waiver is not received.

“I’m passionate about health care for all,” Cortez said. “We have a system that doesn’t work for everybody. Sure, there is private insurance, Obamacare, but there is still a lot of people who need access to health care.”

Cortez and DeSisto are active in local political action groups. DeSisto heard about this petition drive from Lincoln County Indivisible. “I think everybody should have health care. I’m passionate about this so I decided to volunteer," she said.

Cortez directed further questions to two Healthcare for All Maine field directors, Sophie Garner and Buddy Moore. Garner directed all questions to the organization’s website.

According to the website, if the petition drive is successful and the proposal is approved by Maine voters in 2027, the Legislature’s committee overseeing health care and insurance must “develop legislation to create a publicly funded coverage system." A supervising board would be created and oversee key program elements.

Supervising board members would be appointed by the governor then reviewed by a committee and, later, confirmed by the state senate. The committee would be charged with reporting out a bill intended to implement a proposal by 2028.

According to the website, Health Care for All Maine would cover every Maine resident with no gaps and no one left out. Lower cost protections would be built-in with a mechanism intended to lower health care costs over time. The system would cover services “deemed medically necessary” with that standard set by a supervisory board.

The legislation would allow an option to keep your health care provider. The system would provide prompt payments at prevailing rates keeping clinics and hospital financially stable.

“This campaign is about building a system where health care is treated as a public good, where everyone is covered, and where decisions are made by patients and providers, not insurance. This ballot initiative directs the Maine Legislature to write and pass a plan for comprehensive, publicly funded health care coverage for every Maine resident," according to a website statement.

This is not Maine’s first attempt at a statewide universal health care system. The Dirigo Health Agency which oversaw a state-run subsidized health insurance program was launched over 20 years ago. It began in 2005 and ended in 2013, with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.