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Rep. Knight's constituents want option to purchase health insurance out of state

AUGUSTA – Residents of Rep. Gary Knight’s House District want the ability to buy health insurance from out-of-state companies and say newcomers to Maine should be required to establish residency here before becoming eligible for welfare benefits. They also overwhelmingly oppose same-sex marriage.

Those are some of the results from a 14-question survey Rep. Knight sent to his constituents in House District 81, which includes Leeds, Livermore Falls, Livermore and Wayne. More than 350 surveys, representing about 800 people, were returned from the approximately 4,000 mailed to district residences.

“Questionnaires are valuable to legislators because they provide a sense of how your constituents feel about some of the top state issues of the day,” said Rep. Knight, now in his second term in office. “I chose questions related to bills in the Legislature and to upcoming referendum issues.”

The question with the most lopsided response – 96 percent to 4 percent – asked if Maine residents should be allowed to purchase health insurance from insurers in other states. A Republican bill this year would have enabled Mainers to buy insurance from companies operating in other New England states.

“Unfortunately, the majority party killed that bill,” Rep. Knight said. “It is a real shame, because it could have saved Maine families thousands of dollars a year. Insurance costs in Maine are the second highest in the country. Rates are much less expensive in New Hampshire, for instance. We have more than 130,000 uninsured people in Maine, and many of them simply can’t afford the premiums. This would have been a huge improvement to our current system, and it would cost virtually nothing.”

The next highest affirmative response, 93 percent, said parental permission should be required before anyone can dispense prescriptions drugs to persons under age 15. On another question, 92 percent said newcomers to Maine should have to establish residency to be eligible for municipal general assistance.

Ninety percent of respondents said state employees should be required to pay a portion of their health insurance costs. “We got that done in the first legislative session,” noted Rep. Knight. “State workers who make less than $30,000 will pay up to 15 percent of their premiums.”

On a question that asked: “Do you believe same-sex couples should be allowed to marry in Maine,” 26 percent said yes and 74 percent said no. Eighty-four percent of survey respondents said people should be prohibited from using food stamps to buy carbonated beverages and candy.

Sixty-eight percent of respondents said the excise tax on new autos should be based on 90 percent of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) to more closely reflect the actual selling price. “Nobody pays the MSRP for a new car,” Rep. Knight said. “The excise tax is probably the most hated tax in the state. It really annoys folks that they pay the tax on the full price, not on what they paid for the vehicle.” The November ballot includes a referendum item that would, if approved, cut the excise tax in half.

Sixty-three percent of survey respondents said Maine’s minimum wage should be automatically adjusted every year based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The minimum wage rises to $7.50 per hour in October. A bill to link to it to the CPI will be taken up by the Legislature when it convenes in January.

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