Health care in Maine (and elsewhere) is very expensive. Insurance costs reflect the underlying costs of medical care (plus administration and profit or surplus, which are usually modest compared to the cost of care). Advanced technology; provider and consumer driven demand for services, i.e., utilization; malpractice expenses; the aging of the population; unhealthy lifestyles and other factors are major contributing factors that would still drive the high cost of health care even if Maine established a perfectly efficient and effective insurance program.

This is one in a series of policy briefs written for the 2009 Policy Leaders Academy Health Care Forum.