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Maine Speaker of the House Hannah Pingree comes from the same state as Olympia Snowe, but she is in favor of a strong public option. Her state is currently being sued by insurance giant Wellpoint for a guaranteed 3% profit margin, in the midst of a recession that has hit Maine especially hard. Pingree notes that small states like Maine need strong federal regulations to back them up because huge companies like Wellpoint think they can push the state around and raise premiums without raising benefits. Maine has a heavily regulated insurance market, but without a larger buying pool they have little leverage in the face of corporate pressure.