MaineCare enrollment has grown from 135,725 people in 1992, when it was known as Medicaid, to 240,732 people as of Jan. 1, spokesman Newell Augur said.
MaineCare is the state health insurance for low-income and moderate income people. It covers one out of five people in Maine, he said.
Half the people enrolled on MaineCare are under 18, Augur said, and represent a little more than 20 percent of the cost.
Though the number of participants hasn’t quite doubled, the cost to cover MaineCare patients has quadrupled, from $412 million in state fiscal year 1990 to about $1.7 billion in fiscal 2003.
Steven Michaud, president of the Maine Hospital Association, said the costs have risen dramatically because of the cost of drugs covered under the MaineCare program.
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