AUGUSTA, Maine — Lawmakers will meet on Jan. 3 for the second of two work sessions on Gov. Paul LePage’s plan to overhaul MaineCare.
Members of the Appropriations and Health and Human Services committees last met on Dec. 20 to discuss the proposal, designed to close an estimated $221 million shortfall in the Department of Health and Human Services budget. LePage has called for tightening eligibility guidelines, eliminating services and repealing coverage for 65,000 recipients to bring MaineCare closer to national averages for public health benefits.
The committees next week will dig into a lengthy list of questions submitted by lawmakers to the LePage administration addressing the economic and public health impacts of the proposal. The first work session focused on fraud in the MaineCare system and the proposal’s compliance with the federal health reform law.
The work sessions follow a series of public hearings on the MaineCare cuts that packed the State House earlier this month. Most attendees spoke in opposition to the plan.