AUGUSTA — The words didn’t come easily for Tina Gray. At first, they didn’t come at all.

Gray was one of the first of more than 140 people to testify before lawmakers Wednesday against Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to cut $220 million from the state’s Medicaid program and strip more than 65,000 people of health care benefits.

Gray’s brother lives in what’s called a private, nonmedical institution, an assisted-living facility. LePage’s budget cuts would eliminate PNMI funding and save nearly $50 million in fiscal year 2013.

The cut eliminates the state’s PNMI housing subsidy, meaning more than 4,000 people living in those residential facilities — people like Gray’s brother — would have to find new homes.

“I have neither the space nor the financial resources to allow my brother to live with me,” Gray said, choking back tears.

She added, “Wouldn’t you be appalled if a family member was treated this way?”

Gray’s testimony took place as about 250 Mainers rallied nearby in the Hall of Flags against the governor’s proposal. The plan would affect more than 30 programs funded by Medicaid, including Head Start for impoverished children, prescription drug assistance for low-income seniors, health care for childless adults and cuts to dental and mental health services.

The administration has argued that the cuts are necessary to plug the budget gap and bring Maine’s Medicaid spending more in line with the national average. To do that, LePage’s plan slashes so-called optional Medicaid programs.

All but one person who testified Wednesday argued that those programs aren’t optional, but essential.

“We don’t know what to do, or where we’re going to live,” said Robert Small, a former teacher and high school basketball and football coach at Hall-Dale High School.

Small, 78, lives in the PNMI facility Washington Manor in Washington. He moved to Washington Manor 10 years ago after state officials determined he could no longer live alone in his Richmond apartment.

“I bought groceries and drove, but after a while I just couldn’t keep up,” Small said after the hearing.

Small said he still needs help.

“I can’t take care of myself,” said Small, who lives with 34 other residents at Washington Manor. “If they take us out of there, I don’t know where I’ll go.”

Advocates for the poor and elderly say people like Small could end up in nursing homes and that would result in a cost shift, not a savings.

Maine PNMIs have been under federal scrutiny because of their reimbursement structure. However, Leo Delicata, with Legal Services for the Elderly, told lawmakers that the state’s embrace of PNMIs has resulted in a reduction of nursing home beds.

Those testifying against cutting the subsidy said eliminating funding would have dire consequences for those PNMI residents who use the facilities for drug or other treatments.

Representatives from the state’s homeless agencies told lawmakers Wednesday that the PNMI cut would force people onto the streets and into already overburdened shelters.

The PNMI issue emerged as a dominant topic during the public hearing. Kelley Kash, CEO of the Maine Veterans’ Homes, said the cut would force all six of its facilities to close.

Kash noted that the cut would violate federal provisions set by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Additionally, because all six of the facilities were built with federal grants, the state would have to repay the federal government $22 million.

Adrienne Bennett, a spokeswoman for LePage, said the governor had met with Kash and that issue was on LePage’s radar.

Other advocates for the elderly, poor and mentally ill said the governor’s proposed plan would hit a wide range of constituencies and drive up health care costs for everyone.

Auburn’s Richard Livingston, a volunteer for the AARP, said the proposal would saddle an elderly population living under the threat of federal cuts in Social Security and struggling to make ends meet.

Livingston said the governor’s plan to cut some prescription drug programs “should be unthinkable.”

“What has happened in Maine that our Legislature and our governor would even consider balancing the state budget by ripping to shreds the already thread-bare safety net?” he said. “Whatever happened to protecting Mainers as they age or as they need our help?”

Bishop Richard Malone of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland said eliminating the elderly drug program would lead to “worsening health,” and for some, “premature death.”

“How we treat the most vulnerable in our society, where we place them in terms of our priorities, is ultimately the measure of the worth of our society,” he said.

Later he added, “Health care is a basic human right. It is no less essential than food, shelter or clothing.”

James LeBrecque, an advocate for families with disadvantaged children who have experienced difficulty dealing with DHHS, was the only one to testify in support of the governor’s plan.

LeBrecque argued that DHHS inefficiencies and the politics behind unsustainable programs was essentially taking help from families who needed it most.

smistler@sunjournal.com

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