Laura Cameron, three months pregnant, tripped and fell in a parking lot and landed in the emergency room in May. She was flat on her back — scared, in pain and attached to a saline drip — when a hospital representative came by to discuss how she would pay her bill. Though both Cameron and […]
Medicaid
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Paying for Medicaid expansion
Who will pay for the proposed expansion of Medicaid in Maine? One-quarter of Maine’s population are children; another quarter are handicapped or disabled; one quarter are jobless and/or homeless. That leaves the final quarter who are the workers (who pay for it). Government officials do not take money out of their pockets to provide for […]
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Posted inLocal & State
Trump administration opens door to work requirements for Mainers who benefit from Medicaid
Gov. Paul LePage cheered the Trump administration Thursday after Medicaid officials opened the door for states to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients, a policy long sought by Maine’s Republican governor. Progressive groups, meanwhile, roundly criticized the move and threatened legal action, arguing that receiving medical care helps people stay healthy enough to work. Maine […]
Posted inNation / World
Trump administration opens door to let states impose Medicaid work requirements
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration issued guidance to states early Thursday that will allow them to compel people to work or prepare for jobs in order to receive Medicaid for the first time in the half-century history of this pillar of the nation’s social safety net. The letter to state Medicaid directors opens the door […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Get a real cost of living increase
Correct me if I am wrong. Did we or did we not contribute and support Medicare/Medicaid with direct support through weekly paychecks while we were working? Considering the yearly increased costs of these programs, what dictates that the increases need to come from those receiving the benefits? It just seems totally insane to give retirees […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Medicaid should be expanded
On Nov. 9, a majority of voters (59 percent) voted for Maine to expand Medicaid to serve more than 70,000 Mainers. Immediately, Gov. Paul LePage stated that he would block the expansion. That is after he blocked expansion five times when the state Legislature approved it in the past. The federal government is contracted to […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine lawmakers return to deal with marijuana, Medicaid expansion
AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine lawmakers are returning to Augusta to tackle big questions on recreational marijuana sales and funding for voter-approved Medicaid expansion. Wednesday marks the first day of the second session of the 128th Legislature. This year, lawmakers face re-election. Several legislative leaders are running for governor and Congress. While Medicaid expansion and recreational […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
40,000 Mainers sign up for ACA plans
As the Friday deadline to sign up for Affordable Care Act insurance approaches, thousands of Mainers are enrolling in individual health plans even as the law is under threat by the Trump administration. A tax reform bill that repeals a key part of the law is moving quickly through Congress. As of Saturday, 40,608 Mainers had signed up […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Paul LePage reasserts his Medicaid expansion demands in letter to lawmakers
AUGUSTA — In a forceful letter to legislative leaders Monday, Gov. Paul LePage again laid down his demands for funding a voter-approved Medicaid expansion in Maine, emphasizing his position that the estimated $60 million a year cost be paid for without any tax increases. “The Legislature must now step up and identify a way to […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Paul LePage tells lawmakers 'show me the money' on Medicaid expansion
Despite strong support for expansion of Maine’s Medicaid program by voters, Gov. Paul LePage sure doesn’t sound like he has any intention of letting it happen on his watch. “The money has got to be in the bank before we expand,” LePage said during a swing through Lewiston this week to campaign for a mayoral […]