Maine prepares for state version of 'repeal and replace'

Maine's incoming Republican governor, Paul LePage, is preparing to fulfill his campaign promise of repealing that state's universal coverage experiment, reports Stateline.org.

Maine's program, called Dirigo ("I lead," the state's Latin motto), was approved in 2003. It predates not only Democrats' healthcare reform law but also the 2006 Massachusetts model after which the federal law is modeled. 

Unlike the Massachusetts and federal laws, which require people to buy their choice of private coverage with subsidies, the Maine program created a subsidized healthcare plan called DirigoChoice offered through Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. LePage, who has the support of the Tea Party, has called the program a "costly failure" that covers only 3,400 people.

Maine is one of two states, along with Wisconsin, where complete Democratic control of the executive and legislative branch flipped to total Republican control in the midterms.