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 […]
Medicaid
Posted inMaine, 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 […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine Legislature has long to-do list when it returns in January
AUGUSTA — State lawmakers will face a long list of bills when they return to work in January – including measures to fund Medicaid expansion and approve adult-use marijuana – in a second session with a high risk of grandstanding by those who are running for higher office in the November 2018 election. More than […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Under fire from GOP on Medicaid cost, Golden vows 'we will handle this'
AUGUSTA — Maine Republicans and Democratic congressional hopeful Jared Golden exchanged harsh words Thursday as a political battle takes shape about whether the state will follow the dictate of voters to expand Maine’s Medicaid program. Jason Savage, the GOP’s executive director, said Golden could not explain how the state would come up with the cash […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Voters back Medicaid expansion, but that may not matter
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage’s decision Wednesday to hit the brakes on a one-day-old ballot question passed by voters to expand Medicaid in Maine is only the latest example of a trend by the governor or Legislature to, in many residents’ eyes, alter or ignore the will of voters. Last year, voters endorsed a 3 […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Question 2: Maine voters approve Medicaid expansion
A measure to expand Medicaid in Maine, which would give about 70,000 people health care coverage, was approved by voters Tuesday night, making the state the first in the nation to approve Medicaid expansion at the ballot box. With more than 60 percent of Maine precincts reporting, the measure was favored by 59 percent of […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Who pays for Medicaid expansion?
I write this in response to the Sun Journal front page article “Expanding Medicaid a hot issue” (Nov. 3). Anyone reading that article might want to step into a restroom and, when reading the second paragraph where it is stated that the federal government will be paying for 90 percent of the tab, stop for […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Expanding Medicaid a hot issue on Tuesday's ballot
If the Medicaid expansion referendum on Tuesday’s ballot is approved by voters, at least 70,000 low-income Mainers would likely enroll in the federal program to secure health care coverage that many of them lack. For proponents, Question 2 is a way to boost the economy and save lives, paid for mostly by the federal government, […]
Posted inMaine
Maine Medicaid expansion vote seen as ‘Obamacare’ referendum
PORTLAND (AP) — The roiling national debate over the government’s proper role in health care is coming to a head in a state more commonly known for moose, lobster and L.L. Bean. On Nov. 7, voters in Maine will decide whether to join 31 other states and expand Medicaid under former President Barack Obama’s Affordable […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
A healthier, happier state
Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of Great Britain in the late 1800s, once said: “The health of the people is really the foundation upon which all their happiness and all their powers as a state depends.” In other words, the healthier the population, the happier and stronger their country. By extension, the economy would be […]