[1] The program was launched in 2005, and takes its name from the state motto of Maine, Dirigo, which is a Latin phrase meaning "I Lead."
Along with DirigoChoice, it created the Maine Quality Forum, a state health plan and put forth measures to reduce the growth of health care costs in Maine, including asking hospitals to voluntarily cap their annual cost increases at 3% per year[3] and their operating margins at 3.5% per year.
[10] Although proponents of the legislation that set up Dirigo Health projected that it could cover 31,000 previously uninsured Maine residents in its first year, the actual figure through the program's first twelve months was 8,600.
The Dirigo Health Agency Board of Directors has been accused of inflating the cost savings from the program to drive up the amount the state can recoup through the SOP.
[citation needed] His decision came after an independent and thorough review of testimony provided during an adjudicatory hearing from opponents and proponents to Dirigo.