State government spending has rapidly outpaced population growth in Maine over the last decade, according to a new report published…
Browsing: Medicaid
Unnecessary spending in Governor Janet Mills’ biennial budget, approved by Maine lawmakers in 2019, is going to come back to…
Lawmakers on Maine’s Health and Human Services Committee will hold a public hearing Monday on LD 1984, “An Act To…
On October 8, 2019, the Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS) released their quarterly update regarding enrollment numbers for…
Governor Mills’ first move in office was to sign an executive order expanding Medicaid to more than 70,000 Mainers. Maine…
Laura Catevenis, a resident of Lewiston, was close to rock bottom. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and, two years…
Yesterday, Governor Janet Mills announced that her administration has urged the federal government to provide financial aid to municipalities and…
Governor Janet Mills on Friday, June 28 signed into law LD 84, a bill sponsored by Rep. Patrick Corey of…
Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a rule to no longer allow states to make…
Medicaid expansion enrollment under Governor Janet Mills is taking off – almost 16,800 individuals have enrolled to receive Medicaid benefits…
Lawmakers on the Health and Human Services Committee yesterday held a public hearing on a bill, sponsored by Rep. Beth…
Have you ever wondered where the poverty figures you read in the paper or see on the news come from?…
Liberals in Augusta are likely elated with the latest communication from Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services. The department’s…
For the second time in 17 years, Maine has expanded Medicaid. Governor Mills has directed DHHS to take swift action…
When I took office, MaineCare was running biennial budget deficits of more than $200 million, and our state owed the…
With Janet Mills poised to take control of the Blaine House in just a few weeks and strong Democratic majorities…
Ever since the Trump administration signaled its openness to work requirements for able-bodied Medicaid recipients earlier this year, the onslaught…
Earlier this week, Maine House Republicans sustained Governor LePage’s veto of a bill to implement Medicaid expansion, preventing more than $31…
The biggest flaw in most social assistance programs — including TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, and WIC — is that they undermine…
Last month, the Maine Center for Economic Policy posted an article on its website chastising Governor LePage and other Republican…
As the legislative session enters its last weeks, Democrats are sitting on their hands, hoping voters won’t notice they have…
It’s been 100 days since voters passed the referendum to expand Medicaid. So far, the legislature has done nothing to…
One of the few bills making it through Legislative Council this session that actually rises to the emergency threshold outlined…
I have laid out four basic principles to guide the Legislature’s decision on how to pay for Medicaid expansion. We…
Proponents of Medicaid expansion have not been honest with the Maine people. They claim it’s free because the federal government…
It took a lot of work to balance Maine’s budget, bring fiscal responsibility to state government and restore our rainy…
I had the privilege of spending some time in your state earlier this year and I truly enjoyed spending time…
Maine voters will decide tomorrow at the ballot box whether to expand Medicaid coverage to childless, able-bodied working age adults…
In response to a newsletter put out by Maine Medical Center CEO Richard W. Petersen and other hospitals that are…
The Maine people are being told that if Medicaid is not expanded, children and the elderly will suffer. Folks, it’s…
Special-interest groups are using the ballot box to push initiatives that are bad for Maine. For seven years, I have…
When it comes to Medicaid expansion, at one time, Maine was ahead of the curve. In 2002, long before the…
Despite being rejected five times previously, once again, a push to expand MaineCare—the state’s Medicaid program—will be debated. For the…
After accepting feedback from Maine citizens throughout a 30-day public comment period, Democratic Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap made minuscule…
It’s easy for politicians in Washington, D.C. to make promises to the people, especially when they don’t have to deal…
On Wednesday, the editorial board at the Wall Street Journal penned an enlightening piece that critically examines the traditional Medicaid…
It’s imperative that government spends public funds in the best interest of its citizens. With this in mind, the people…
The Office of Fiscal and Program Review released the fiscal note for the Medicaid expansion referendum Maine voters will consider…
This November, Maine voters will be asked whether they want to expand Medicaid eligibility to able-bodied, childless adults between the…
Proponents of Medicaid expansion often assert that expansion insures more people and leads to a healthier population. As Maine knows…
Health care is perhaps the most complex and contentious issue being debated throughout Maine and the country today. At the…
As Maine’s successful reforms to its health insurance market in 2011 continue to fuel the national conversation about ObamaCare repeal…
This is a comment I received from an 81-year old widow in Penobscot County in response to a constituent survey…
Wednesday night, House Republicans once again said no to Medicaid expansion for the sixth time. While LD 633, “An Act…
Following the scheduled public hearings and work sessions today, the Health and Human Services Committee will review amendments for Legislative Document…
AUGUSTA — Today the Department of Health and Human Services released the fiscal note attached to Senator Tom Saviello’s bill…
If you didn’t know better, you would think that certain legislators in Augusta suffer from short-term memory loss. Every session…
It’s been almost six years since President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, and it’s become clear that…
One of the most serious problems that Maine and our Nation face today is the alarming and growing heroin epidemic. …
In the past few weeks, media outlets have slammed Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for the growing…
On Monday, the United States Supreme Court rejected a request by the LePage administration to review a lower court’s ruling…
On Wednesday, the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) released a report highlighting the explosion in enrollment in states that have…
Recently on Twitter, a very non-political friend of mine posted something about the failures of Obamacare. It was only seconds before a…
At Wednesday’s gubernatorial debate, U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud, the Democratic candidate, suggested U.S. policymakers should combat the the spread of the…
There are plenty of differences between the Maine gubernatorial candidates this election. Whether it concerns tax, labor, business or welfare…
The Foundation for Government Accountability, a Naples, Florida-based think tank focused on developing state and national health care policy, on…
As we mark the 50th anniversary of Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, the U.S. Census Bureau is set to…
AUGUSTA – The Maine Republican Party has issued the first edition of what it says will be a series of memos…
AUGUSTA – The final chance to expand Maine’s Medicaid program pursuant to the Affordable Care Act fell short on Thursday…
From House Communications Director David Sorensen: AUGUSTA – The Maine House of Representatives late Monday afternoon voted 77-57 in favor…
Jesus wants Maine’s House of Representatives to expand Mainecare coverage. We know this because. Diane Russell (D-Portland) mounted her pulpit…
A poll released Wednesday by opponents of Medicaid expansion found support for the proposal decreases significantly when voters are made…
Former Maine Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat, condemned the Maine Democrats’ Medicaid expansion mudslinging campaign during a Thursday morning segment…
AUGUSTA – A proposal to expand Medicaid pursuant to the Affordable Care Act passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday,…
By Michael Ciampi, M.D. — As the Maine Legislature and the public debate Medicaid expansion, there an aspect of the equation…
More than one-third of individuals covered under the Affordable Care Act’s proposed expansion of Medicaid have criminal histories, according to…
AUGUSTA – The Maine Senate approved a Medicaid expansion proposal Wednesday, but the vote, 22-13, fell short of the two-thirds…
Maine has exceeded the Obama administration’s enrollment goal for the HealthCare.gov insurance exchanges thanks, in part, to the Republican reluctance…
The Democratic activist group Maine People’s Alliance is calling Gov. Paul LePage and Republican lawmakers killers for opposing a bill…
$800 Million or a Big Mac?: Critics of a plan to expand Maine’s Medicaid program pursuant to the Affordable Care…
AUGUSTA – In a 5-7 party line vote, the Legislature’s Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee voted Monday to recommend…
When doctors discovered that Jeff and Kirsten Martin’s child would have serious medical complications, they urged her to terminate the…
The Portland-based Press Herald newspaper, a publication majority-owned by Democratic Party mega-donor S. Donald Sussman, has refused to publish an…
(Editor’s Note: The Portland-based Press Herald newspaper refused to publish this opinion editorial, written by Rep. Deb Sanderson (R-Chelsea), the…
AUGUSTA – Members of Gov. Paul LePage’s cabinet gathered at the State House on Wednesday to deliver a message to…
PORTLAND – The Maine Heritage Policy Center (MHPC) on Thursday released a study of the pending proposal to expand Medicaid…
AUGUSTA – Twenty-six Republican state representatives delivered an open letter to House Speaker Mark Eves (D-North Berwick) Wednesday morning asking…
AUGUSTA – A top Republican lawmaker on the Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee is questioning the objectivity of non-partisan…
Robyn Merrill of the Maine Equal Justice Partners attacked the LePage administration on Sunday, accusing the Republican governor of supporting…
“It is amazing that people who think we cannot afford to pay for doctors, hospitals, and medication somehow think that…
I was surprised to read in a recent op-ed column by state Sen. Emily Cain (D-Orono) that federal dollars have…
I was surprised to read in a recent op-ed column by state Sen. Emily Cain (D-Orono) that federal dollars have…
AUGUSTA – For the second time in the 126th Legislature, the Health and Human Services Committee held a public hearing…
AUGUSTA – Gary Alexander, founder and president of The Alexander Group, on Tuesday presented his report on a proposal to…
Maine Wire readers should be well aware that the most controversial policy issue at the State level this year is…
Mark Giangreco, my new friend at the Democratic Governor’s Association (DGA), just sent an e-mail urging me “to join Mike…
Mark Giangreco, my new friend at the Democratic Governor’s Association (DGA), just sent an e-mail urging me “to join Mike…
AUGUSTA – Expanding eligibility for Maine’s medical welfare program, known as Medicaid or MaineCare, under the federal Affordable Care Act…
Would expanding medical welfare reduce visits to the emergency room? A new study from Oregon says, No. The study, released…
AUGUSTA – The Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP), a liberal think tank, is asking applicants for its latest job…
The Maine People’s Alliance, a liberal advocacy group, claimed on Thursday that its latest robotic poll of 434 Mainers…
The top advocate for expanding medical welfare in Maine confirmed Tuesday that he has returned to his position with a…
The chief Democratic advocate for Medicaid expansion may have misrepresented his professional relationship with a private school that stands to…
PORTLAND – Two Portland lawmakers are looking to capitalize on voters’ short memories, claiming in taxpayer-funded mail pieces that it…
The present conversation over Medicaid expansion, as witnessed daily in editorial pages and at the State House, is misleading because…
AUGUSTA – Top Republicans said Tuesday that problems with President Obama’s signature health care law show the federal government’s promise…
“Health care is a right, not a privilege.” How often have people heard that simplistic slogan fall from the lips…
Rep. Lawrence E. Lockman (R-Amherst) and Assistant House Majority Leader Jeff M. McCabe (D-Skowhegan) took to the pages of the…
According to the Lewiston Sun Journal, unenrolled gubernatorial candidate Eliot Cutler of Cape Elizabeth has said he would have signed…
AUGUSTA – As Democratic lawmakers plan a second major push to expand Medicaid next legislative session, Republicans are touting the…