By Sen. Marianne Moore

(Editor’s Note: This column originally appeared in the Calais Advertiser and the Machias Valley News Observer.)

MaineCare, Maine’s state Medicaid program, is currently facing a $450 million shortfall. 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 $2.5 billion allocated to MaineCare in the current two-year budget, the program is being crushed under its own weight.

With nearly one in three Mainers enrolled, the program has grown too big to function. There is simply not enough revenue to fund the program at its current level. I strongly believe MaineCare needs to continue to function as an important safety net for those who need it most.

To ensure MaineCare can continue to provide services for Maine’s most vulnerable citizens, Republicans offered proposals that would rein in MaineCare’s out of control spending. One such proposal included implementing a freeze on MaineCare enrollment for able-bodied, childless adults until enrollment fell by ten percent.

We also offered an amendment to require community engagement requirements for working-aged, able-bodied adults with no dependents. This modest 20-hour per week requirement could consist of work, job training or community service. It is crucial for working-aged adults with no dependents that MaineCare serves as a stopgap until they can get back on their feet and move on to marketplace coverage, not as a lifelong source of insurance.

I care about the people of Maine and the people of Washington County. I know how hard it is to get care in Downeast Maine. That’s why I fought for cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for direct care workers to be included during negotiations on the supplemental budget. These COLAs had been promised and were already passed into law, but the Mills’ administration had not taken necessary actions to deliver them.

Due to negotiations by my colleagues and me, COLAs were eventually included in the supplemental budget proposal. I had made it very clear that to gain my support, any budget would need to re-affirm the state’s commitment to providing promised compensation for our direct care workers.

It is because of the inclusion of the COLAs that I supported the supplemental budget when it came before the Senate. While it didn’t go far enough in reforming MaineCare, I felt the insertion of the COLAs into the budget necessitated my support.

I hope more changes can be made that aim to protect MaineCare’s long-term sustainability. The Legislature will continue to discuss this shortfall and other funding issues during the biennial budget process. While I’m not optimistic the majority party will work towards a two-thirds biennial budget, I hope some of these modest compromises, including the COLAs, will be incorporated. 

Senator Marianne Moore is serving her fourth term representing the citizens of Senate District 6, which includes all of Washington County and 16 communities in Eastern Hancock County. She serves as the Senate Republican Lead on the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee.