Maine AllCare founding board members Charlie Priest, a former Maine legislator, and Alice E. Knapp Esq., a former state health insurance regulator, will show “The Healthcare Movie” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 9, at the First Universalist Church of Pittsfield, Easy and Main streets, Pittsfield. This is a documentary about the origins of Canada’s single payer healthcare system and how it evolved to be so different from ours when 50 years ago our two countries’ systems were essentially the same, according to a news release from the board. After the movie, Priest and Knapp will share their perspectives followed by Q & A and discussion.
Priest is an attorney with 14 years of service in the Maine Legislature, including two terms on the Insurance and Financial Services Committee. He was the prime sponsor of single payer legislation during the last three sessions of the Legislature, according to the release. His goal is the enactment and smooth implementation of single payer healthcare in Maine.
Priest lives in Brunswick with his wife, Patricia Ryan. They have two daughters.
Knapp, a graduate of the University of Maine School of Law, founded a solo law practice in her hometown of Richmond. While she maintains a specialty practice in health and administrative law, she considers herself a small town, general practitioner.
Knapp has been an advocate for health care system reform since leaving state government and gave birth to and drafted Maine’s law prohibiting health insurance annual and lifetime benefit caps, which went into effect July 12, 2010.
For more information, call 487-6523 or visit midmainecommunityforum.wordpress.com.
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