I read with some interest Richard Fochtmann’s letter to the editor of June 16. I found the letter to be ill-informed, at best.
Fochtmann contends that the recently passed budget (LD 1746) eliminated $11 million in MaineCare funding, forgoing an additional $20 million in federal matching funds. He then went on to point out the increased cost shift to insurance companies due to the failure of the Legislature to appropriate those funds.
What Fochtmann neglected to mention was that this budget actually increased by $88 million the appropriation for the Department of Health and Human Services for MaineCare. That will leverage $234 million in federal funding to provide an additional $322 million for fiscal 2013 for the state’s neediest people.
While there were cuts to some programs and some funds were shifted, the budget was fiscally responsible in an era of growing needs for the MaineCare-eligible population.
Maine is still spending about $1,800 per capita for MaineCare benefits — about 40 percent higher than the national average.
Rep. Richard S. Malaby, R-Hancock
Member, Health and Human Services Committee
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