Nuggets from the notebook while wondering if some of Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed cuts in MaineCare will be well received by the federal government … Last week, the governor told reporters he was confident that the state could pressure the federal government to release the state from a provision in the federal health care law […]
Paul LePage
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage’s first year as governor is named top Maine story
The Republican governor’s first year in office, along with the GOP’s return to power in the State House, has been named Maine’s top story for 2011 by The Associated Press. Just nine days after being sworn into office in January, LePage sparked a clamor when he told critics to “kiss my butt” over his decision […]
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Report: 2010 election showed big spike in outside campaign spending in Maine
A study of Maine’s past three state elections released Friday shows a sharp increase in campaign spending by outside groups since 2006. The National Institute on Money in State Politics, a nonpartisan group that partners with the Sunlight Foundation, released a report showing that the total independent spending on campaign ads, mailers and other communications […]
Posted inMaine
LePage urges lawmakers to address ‘economic reality’ of DHHS cuts
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage on Tuesday expressed frustration with the pace and substance of deliberations over his proposed $220 million cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services. In a highly unusual and unscripted move, LePage walked into the tail end of a joint work session between DHHS staff and the Legislature’s budgetary […]
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Some LePage DHHS cuts require elusive federal waiver
AUGUSTA — The Legislature could be rolling the dice if it passes Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed Medicaid cuts, several of which would require federal waivers. LePage told reporters this week that the Legislature would have to pass his $220 million in cuts before the state can apply for an exemption from provisions in the federal […]
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LePage says Maine’s welfare numbers are bloated
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — There are more Mainers receiving welfare benefits than there are income tax filers paying taxes, Republican Gov. Paul LePage said Saturday. But Democrats said LePage’s numbers are deceptive and not entirely truthful. In reiterating his call for the need to cut human services programs to save money, the governor said in […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Childless adults tell of dire circumstances loss of MaineCare would cause
“If I lose my MaineCare, that’s it,” she said. “I’m on oxygen, I’ll have no way to get my oxygen, no way to get my medications, no way to go to the doctor.” Bouchard is one of about 19,000 childless adults who are slated to lose MaineCare coverage under the proposal. Known as “noncategoricals,” they […]
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LePage stands by MaineCare cuts, asks to oversee MaineHousing
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage reiterated the need for a sweeping overhaul of MaineCare at the State House on Thursday, while elsewhere in the building scores of opponents testified before lawmakers for a second day. At a public hearing on the governor’s proposed cuts to MaineCare, many spoke out against planned funding rollbacks for […]
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BEP scrutinizes plan to expedite wetlands permitting
AUGUSTA — The Board of Environmental Protection on Thursday scrutinized a proposal designed to loosen permitting requirements for people who want to build near so-called moderate-value wetlands. The proposal, part of a legislative directive last session to expedite permitting, had set environmental groups on high alert after the Department of Environmental Protection submitted a plan […]
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LePage, Democrats dispute origin, magnitude of DHHS shortfall
AUGUSTA — As lawmakers on Tuesday dissected the causes of a projected $220 million budget shortfall in the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, the political jockeying stepped up in earnest over the LePage administration’s proposal to remove more than 65,000 Mainers from the state’s Medicaid program. Lawmakers on the Legislature’s budgetary committee grilled […]