AUGUSTA — Rep. Robert Saucier, D-Presque Isle, said last week that tens of thousands of working Mainers, sick Mainers and nearly 3,000 veterans stand to benefit from health care expansion funded by the federal government.
“There are 3,000 Maine veterans who will be denied coverage,” said Saucier. “It is time for Republicans to support our veterans with actions not just with talking points. Accepting federal dollars for Medicaid expansion will ensure our veterans are protected just like they protected us in service to our country.”
The governor vetoed a bipartisan measure earlier this year that would have accepted the funds for three years. As result, nearly 25,000 low-income Mainers, including 15,000 parents, will lose coverage in January and 55,000 other low-income Mainers will not be eligible for health care coverage.
Navy veteran Tom Ptacek is among those who will lose his health care coverage in January. Ptacek, who lives and works in Portland, served his country but has non-service related injuries that are not covered by the Veterans Administration.
Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government has pledged to pay 100 percent of the costs of health care for tens of thousands of Mainers for three years and then gradually lower their payment to no less than 90 percent of the cost by 2020.
The state of Maine will lose out on $700,000 per day in federal health care dollars starting in January.
In Aroostook County, the federal offer would benefit many. Federal health care funds are estimated to inject $24.3 million annually into The County’s economy and create 280 jobs here and make insurance available to 4,615 residents, according to an analysis by the Maine Center for Economic Policy.
The non-partisan Kaiser Foundation and the conservative Heritage Foundation show that Maine will save $690 million and cover nearly 70,000 Maine people over the course of a decade if the governor accepts the federal money. Maine is one of 10 states that will see Medicaid expenditures go down over 10 years.
Democrats will bring a new bill forward in January to accept the federal health care dollars to increase coverage for more Maine people.
