When the Legislature breaks between sessions, lawmakers use this break to identify needs and connect residents to resources. One of the most pressing needs you contact me about is health care. Every person should have access to a family doctor, but as all of us know, too many people do not.

With the Affordable Care Act, many Americans received improved coverage like free wellness and prevention care and the ability for children to stay on their parents’ plans until age 26. But still, nearly two in 10 Americans are without health insurance.

A new online marketplace will open on Oct. 1 in Maine and every other state. Consumers can go to one place to evaluate their insurance options and make easy comparisons of plans. All plans will be required to cover a comprehensive set of benefits, including physician visits, preventive care, hospital stays and prescriptions. Discrimination based on gender or pre-existing conditions will no longer be allowed. And many families and small businesses will qualify for a price reduction on their monthly premiums.

To help all of us understand this marketplace and how to use it, I am hosting a Health Insurance Marketplace Informational Session on Monday, Sept. 30, from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Freeport Community Center. State Sen. Stan Gerzofsky and Rep. Anne Graham will be in attendance, too. All members of the public are invited to attend and marketplace “navigators” who have been trained to understand and help people apply will be giving a presentation and answering questions. Please join us.

State Rep. Sara Gideon
Freeport