I feel strongly about the necessity of the governor accepting the Medicaid expansion, so I am appealing to Sen. James Hamper and Rep. Tom Winsor to do the right thing for the citizens of their districts. Serving the interests of constituents is what legislators are elected to do, not to blindly follow their party’s dictates and Gov. LePage — disregarding the needs of neighbors.

Oxford County residents are suffering from the effects of unemployment and poor health status compared with the rest of Maine. I didn’t think I would have to remind legislators how bad it is. I found some statistics that point to the dire need to cover as many people as possible, especially if the cost of care is being paid for by the federal government, since everyone pays for that with taxes.

Why would we want other states to expand their Medicaid using our tax dollars and refuse to do the same for our own citizens? It makes no sense.

The teen birth rate in Oxford County is 27 percent; state average, 24 percent; and national average, 21 percent. Uninsured: Oxford County, 14 percent; Maine, 12 percent; national, 11 percent. Children in poverty: county, 24 percent; Maine, 19 percent; national, 14 percent. Children in single-parent households: county, 31 percent; Maine, 31 percent; national, 20 percent.

The governor promised to repay the funding owed hospitals from past MaineCare payments. It makes no sense for him to oppose the opportunity for 70,000 Mainers to be eligible to receive MaineCare, 100 percent paid for by the federal government for three years and then 90 percent after that.

Dennise Whitley, Norway