Mainers overwhelmingly voted for Medicaid expansion Tuesday. Now the state's Republican governor is refusing to implement it.
After 60 percent of voters in Maine voted Tuesday to expand Medicaid under ObamaCare, the state's Republican governor said Wednesday that he would not expand the program until it was fully funded by the state's legislature, the Washington Examiner reports. In a statement released Wednesday, Gov. Paul LePage said that "credit agencies are predicting that this fiscally irresponsible Medicaid expansion will be ruinous to Maine's budget."
Under the Affordable Care Act, states that expand Medicaid coverage have 100 percent of their costs paid by the federal government for the first three years of expansion. Federal government support would then phase down to 90 percent. Although Maine would receive $525 million in federal funding, the conservative Maine Heritage Policy Center estimated that the state would pay more than $100 million on Medicaid expansion costs by 2022.
LePage has vetoed five previous attempts at passing Medicaid expansion in Maine, but he does not have authority to veto the latest effort because it was a ballot measure, not a piece of legislation. Maine previously expanded in Medicaid in 2002 under former Gov. Angus King (I), which LePage has claimed created "massive budget shortfalls"; in 2013, LePage signed a bill paying off a $186 million Medicaid debt to 39 hospitals in order to protect the state's credit rating.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
LePage has said that expanding the program would "kill this state." Maine is the 32nd state (not including the District of Columbia) to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, but the first to do so via voter referendum.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.
-
Magazine interactive crossword - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine solutions - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine printables - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homes
Speed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'
Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bid
Speed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detente
Speed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe fees
Speed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billion
Speed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8
speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published