Ask any Mainer what keeps them up at night and chances are it is health care. The sense of panic is not only the cost of a doctor’s visit, but the fear everything you worked for will be wiped out by one diagnosis, a bad accident, or something really going wrong in your or a loved one’s health. The reality is that in a rural state like ours, finding care could mean driving an hour each way just to get an appointment. Untimely care can lead to additional health issues and added stress.

We all know who makes this state run: the lobsterman who gets up before dawn, the carpenter who builds our homes, the farmer who feeds our communities, the shop owner who has been on Main Street for twenty years. So many of these citizens are self-employed or working for small businesses and lack the “privilege of healthcare” because of this. They have invested everything in their communities, and  deserve health care that does not punish them for not having a corporate HR department.

Maine Democrats are committed to fighting to lower health care costs and expand access. That is not a partisan issue. It is a moral one. And it is our job.