Research shows governor’s irresponsible budget cuts based on myths

Posted: January 09, 2012 | Health and Human Services, Senator Craven

Evidence shows healthcare for low-income Mainers critical for public health, cost-savings

AUGUSTA – A new report released today analyzing Maine’s Medicaid health insurance program, MaineCare, for childless low-income adults shows that the recipients are typically older and have serious medical conditions. The report dispelled myths and rhetoric that childless adults receiving care are able-bodied and young.

 

“The new research provides further evidence that the governor’s proposal to throw 65,000 people off of health care is irresponsible and dangerous,” said Rep. Mark Eves, D-North Berwick, the lead House Democrat on the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee. “If we throw these individuals off of health care, they will be forced to seek more expensive emergency room care, and private insurance payers will be left with the bill.”

 

The report, “Preserving MaineCare Coverage for Low-Income Adults: Smart Policy-Common Sense,” was conducted by Maine Equal Justice Partners in conjunction with a physician and leading researcher, Professor Sandra Butler, Ph.D., at the University of Maine School of Social Work, and Dr. Laurel Coleman.

 

Key findings from the report include that 60 percent of recipients of MaineCare health insurance are 35 or older; 43 percent are 45 or older; and 47 percent have serious medical conditions, such as cancer and diabetes. Recipients of the public health insurance must earn at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $10,890 a year for one person.

 

The report also says that eliminating MaineCare for low-income adults would be a cost savings of $22 million. The result will be a loss of $37 million in federal dollars that the state receives to provide the services.

 

“We must move beyond the rhetoric and on to responsible policy solutions based on facts and research,” said Senator Margaret Craven, D-Lewiston, who serves on the Health and Human Services Committee. “Myths and anecdotes are not a part of the solution. The report shows that most of the childless adults receiving MaineCare rely on it to pay for life-saving medicine and treatment – these are not able-bodied young adults looking to game the system as some would like the public to believe.”

 

The report also shows that Maine is among 20 states offering some form of coverage to low-income childless adults. Beginning in 2014, all states will be required to cover this group under the Affordable Care Act.