By Sen. Marianne Moore

Upon returning to the State House to begin the work of the 132nd Legislature, we were immediately greeted with an unpleasant surprise. According to a budget memo from the Commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS), MaineCare, Maine’s state Medicaid program, is currently experiencing a severe budget gap.

Hello, this is Senator Marianne Moore joining you for this week’s Republican Radio Address. I have the honor of serving communities in Hancock and Washington counties and I serve on the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee.

With no one allowed to be dropped during COVID-19 and eligibility greatly expanded to able-bodied adults with no children, MaineCare program costs have predictably ballooned. Despite having almost two and a half billion dollars appropriated to MaineCare in the current two-year budget, there is a funding gap of 118 million dollars.

Yes, you heard that right. More than 410,000 Maine residents are on MaineCare right now, even after 67,000 Mainers were unenrolled from the program due to the end of the COVID-era restrictions. That is nearly 30 percent of Maine’s population. Under our too-generous Medicaid expansion, MaineCare enrollment has increased by about 100,000 people who could otherwise purchase health care insurance elsewhere.

Republicans have consistently warned that participation at this level would not be sustainable. Despite these repeated warnings and record-breaking funding, nearly one in three Mainers were enrolled in MaineCare at its peak.

Unfortunately, legislative Democrats and Governor Mills have simply plugged their ears and ignored our cost concerns. Luckily for them, federal funding bailed them out and was able to buoy Maine’s unsustainable program. This only pushed MaineCare’s ultimate failure into the future.

Unfortunately, that failure is happening now. After repeated Republican warnings about reliance on federal funding for MaineCare and the potential consequences of expanding eligibility, the Governor is now requesting a supplemental budget to plug this $118 million shortfall – a shortfall of her own making.

And let’s not forget that the Biden Administration made us keep 67,000 people on MaineCare who otherwise didn’t qualify. That has cost Maine taxpayers untold millions of dollars over the past three years. In essence, it was an unfunded federal mandate.

Interestingly, the DAFS commissioner also attributes this otherwise avoidable budget shortfall to “an increase in the utilization of MaineCare services” after a downturn of usage during COVID-19. If this is the case, where are the savings from the fiscal years when the use of services was less?

Republicans have made it very clear over the last several years that Maine does not have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem. Democrats in Maine have managed to drastically increase the state budget year over year by funding pet projects and creating new administrative positions. This shortfall will not be fixed by raising more taxes on hard-working Mainers. The state must tighten its belt, just as many Maine citizens are forced to do every day.

Let us be very clear. Maine hospitals and medical providers must be paid for their services. Mainers already know how hard it is to find healthcare; and this MaineCare budget disaster must be addressed without further burdening Mainers who are already struggling, including our seniors.

Senate Republicans will oppose any new taxes. Full stop. There are ways for this shortfall to be addressed without increasing the already high tax burden faced by Maine taxpayers. Right now, there are 1,500 vacant positions in State Government, yet the Governor has proposed adding 250 new positions in her budget. She is ignoring the larger problem and the fact that we must make much deeper, more difficult budget decisions.

Mainers are smart enough to know that nothing is free. Democrats’ promise of free health care through MaineCare expansion is most certainly costing every one of us a whole lot more. We cannot let this go on any longer.

Again, this is Senator Marianne Moore of Washington County. Thank you for listening; and make sure to follow Maine Senate Republicans on Facebook, Instagram and X.

Senator Marianne Moore represents District 6, which includes communities in Washington and Hancock counties. She is the Senate Republican Lead for the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee.