AUGUSTA – Both houses of the Maine Legislature have voted in favor of funding to extend Medicaid to an estimated 70,000 residents, potentially undercutting Gov. LePage’s argument against implementing the voter-approved expansion.
The Maine Senate and House agreed to a plan to pay for the state’s $60 million share of costs associated with the expansion of Medicaid in Maine, although more votes were needed before the bill gets sent to LePage’s desk.
Voters approved expanding the state’s Medicaid system in 2017 so those earning less than 138 percent of the federal poverty guideline would become eligible for state and federally funded health care coverage. The change would expand the system to an estimated 70,000 Mainers, although critics of the expansion say it could increase the state’s Medicaid roles by as much as 80,000.
LePage has repeatedly blocked Medicaid expansion in Maine and has refused to implement the voter-approved expansion, arguing that the Legislature must first allocate funding.
There are conflicting assessments for how much expansion would cost the state even with the federal government footing 90 percent of the bill. While a recent study funded by the Maine Health Access Foundation estimated it will cost roughly $30 million in the current two-year budget, the LePage administration has pegged the costs at $60 million during the first year and as much as $100 million annually in future years.
While both houses support a $60 million allocation, the Senate voted 23-9 Wednesday to amend a bill approved by the House on Tuesday to pay for the expansion using about $35 million in additional funding the state received from a lawsuit against tobacco companies and excluding about $20 million in funding that comes from the state’s budget stabilization fund, known to lawmakers as the “rainy day” fund.
The House approved the Senate version Wednesday.
LePage, had made clear his opposition to using money from the budget stabilization fund.
The votes present a challenge to LePage, who is also currently under a Superior Court order to submit a plan to expand Maine’s Medicaid system to the federal government for approval. While LePage’s outside legal team has asked the state’s Supreme Judicial Court to stay that order while the outcome of another LePage appeal to the law court is settled, the court has yet to issue a ruling on that.
LePage has argued that, as governor, he cannot appropriate the money for the expansion because that’s a responsibility of the state Legislature. It remains uncertain whether LePage will veto the measure. And, while a LePage veto of the funding measure would likely be sustained by minority Republicans in the House, a veto could also put LePage in a precarious legal position, given he’s argued in court that the Legislature hasn’t funded the expansion costs.
The use of tobacco settlement money came indirectly from Maine Attorney General Janet Mills, a Democrat who hopes to be the Democratic nominee for governor. Mills announced in April that her office and attorneys general in eight other states had reached an agreement with tobacco companies that would result in an additional $35 million for Maine as part of a 1998 legal settlement with the industry.
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