Judy Newell of Portland speaks against the proposed changes to the state’s Medicaid program during a hearing, Wednesday, May 17, 2017, in Portland, Maine. Maine and Wisconsin are finalizing waivers to make significant changes to Medicaid that would make the program more like welfare programs, with restrictions to eligibility and enrollment, premiums and cost-sharing. (AP […]
Medicaid
Posted inLocal & State
Maine wants to require work of certain Medicaid applicants
AUGUSTA (AP) — Gov. Paul LePage’s administration is asking President Donald Trump to allow Maine to require certain adults to work to receive Medicaid. The state wants to count an individual’s personal assets when determining MaineCare eligibility and wants to collect monthly premiums for adults who have the ability to earn income. Department of Health […]
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Posted inLocal & State
LePage administration moves toward stricter Medicaid rules
Maine will ask President Donald Trump’s administration to let it further rein in the state’s Medicaid program, announcing on Tuesday that the Department of Health and Human Services will have a comment period and two public hearings in May ahead of a formal request. The move was no surprise: Gov. Paul LePage’s administration announced its plan in January to ask […]
Posted inNation / World
Feds support states that want work requirements for Medicaid
WASHINGTON — A simple question — should adults who are able to work be required to do so to get taxpayer-provided health insurance? — could lead to major changes in the social safety net. The federal-state Medicaid program for low-income and disabled people covers more than 70 million U.S. residents — about 1 in 5 […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Maintain the safety net
A number of years ago, I was diagnosed with multifocal motor neuropathy — a disorder that has slowly taken the use of my hands and arms. As my disability worsened, I decided that, at 65 years of age, retirement would be my best option. In doing calculations, my financial survival depended upon the continuation of […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Proposed changes to Medicare just unacceptable
Maine has a special connection to the New Deal of 1933, whose originator, Frances Perkins, spent much of her life as a part-time resident of Newcastle. The Roosevelt initiatives that Ms. Perkins, the first woman to serve as a member of a presidential cabinet, helped craft were the beginning of the most important social compact […]
Posted inLocal & State
Mary Mayhew asks Trump administration for more MaineCare cuts
On the same day that advocates for expanding Medicaid coverage delivered more than 67,000 signatures to secure a public referendum on the issue, the state asked the new administration in Washington to let it scale back the federal health care program for the poor. For Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew, […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine DHHS asks feds to OK Medicaid changes
The LePage administration has sent a letter outlining changes to Maine’s Medicaid program that they want green-lit by President Donald Trump. The impact of all of these proposed changes is unclear, but they include premiums and other changes that the Maine Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release will be sent to the Trump administration […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Advocates turn in petitions to put Medicaid on ballot
AUGUSTA — Health care advocates in Maine say they have more than enough signatures to get a referendum to expand Medicaid coverage on the November ballot. Now it’s up to the Secretary of State’s office to verify the signatures. The Mainers for Health Care campaign said Wednesday the additional federal funding would cover tens of thousands […]