Opinion ID: 2320997
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Unique Nature of Dirigo Health

Text: [¶ 5] The Dirigo Health program is a unique statutory creation. It is not based on a uniform or model act. Compare with Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act, 18-A M.R.S. §§ 5-801 to 5-818 (2006). It has not been derived from the workings of another state's program. [2] It has no history in the common law. Rather, it represents the efforts of the Governor and the Legislature to respond to a perceived social problem in a manner that had not been tried before. [¶ 6] Thus, in resolving the disputes that have arisen between and among the parties before us, we find no substantive guidance through precedent. We are limited to the plain language of the statute and, where ambiguities exist, the legislative record. Well-settled rules of statutory construction are critical, as is legislative history when interpreting any ambiguous language in the statute.