Business groups in Maine have sharply diverging positions on the Nov. 7 referendum to expand Medicaid, with some viewing it as a source of economic benefits and others as a precursor to a tax increase. Still others are undecided. The contrasting views were apparent Tuesday when the Maine Small Business Coalition, which claims to have […]
Medicaid
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Susan Collins joins opposition to GOP health care plan
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine In a move that likely dooms the Republican health care overhaul, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Monday it is “as deeply flawed” as several other GOP versions over the summer so she will oppose it. Without her backing, the latest bid to overturn the Affordable Care Act appears to be dead. […]
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Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Dunlap avoids political spat over wording of Medicaid ballot question
AUGUSTA — Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap dodged a political dust-up Thursday about the wording of a referendum on whether to expand Medicaid in Maine. The proposed wording of the question initially referred to Medicaid as “health insurance,” a description that raised ire among conservatives who insisted it is more fair to call it welfare […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Bruce Poliquin differs from Susan Collins on Medicaid reductions
During a closed-door session with supporters of a conservative foundation, U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin said the assertion that the House health care bill he voted for would cut Medicaid “is a flat-out untruthful statement.” Whether he’s right or not is likely to be a key point in his re-election battle during the next 14 months […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Scaling back Medicaid would hurt Maine families
The defeat of the repeal of Obamacare may mean that the health care debate has fallen off the front page of the newspaper, but it doesn’t mean the end of major changes in America’s health care system. Less noticed, but also critically important, is the fact that each governor, including Gov. Paul LePage, holds in […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Paul LePage says a Medicaid expansion would kill Maine
Gov. Paul LePage has turned his attention squarely at defeating the Medicaid expansion referendum on this November’s ballot, claiming again that broadening eligibility for the government-run program would drive the state into backbreaking debt. LePage’s ardent opposition to Medicaid expansion is nothing new. He has vetoed bids to do so six times during his tenure, […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
LePage administration asks feds for MaineCare work requirements
AUGUSTA (AP) — Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s administration is officially asking the federal government to impose work and premium requirements on state Medicaid recipients. Low-income Mainers this spring told state regulators the changes would make it harder to access health care that would allow them to work. Maine Public reported (http://bit.ly/2vvfuU4 ) Maine Equal Justice […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Health-care bill could strip public schools of billions for special education
WASHINGTON — School superintendents across the country are raising alarms about the possibility that Republican health care legislation would curtail billions of dollars in annual funding they count on to help students with disabilities and poor children. For the past three decades, Medicaid has helped pay for services and equipment that schools provide to special-education […]
Posted inLocal & State
Susan Collins offers support for Medicaid expansion in Maine
Whether Maine should expand its Medicaid program to cover tens of thousands more people has long been a hotly debated issue — and one that may be decided at the ballot box in November. But until now, Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has remained above the fray, focused on trying to come up with a […]
Posted inLetters
Save health care coverage
I hope Congress protects the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid programs across the country and here in Maine. I am very disappointed with the bill that the House passed, and I can’t believe that Rep. Bruce Poliquin supported it. I need health care insurance to go to my doctor and for my prescriptions at the […]