PORTLAND, Maine — Two advocacy groups are suing the state over changes in MaineCare that were adopted by state lawmakers.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine and Maine Equal Justice Partners say they’re filing their legal challenge Thursday in federal court in Portland.
A spokesman declined to reveal details ahead of the filing.
MaineCare is the state’s version of Medicaid. Gov. Paul LePage has been seeking to reduce MaineCare eligibility and benefits because he says the program is straining the state budget.
More lawyers to the rescue.
When will people realize that the state can no longer afford these overly generous programs that have been bleeding the budget for years?
It’s a bad economy, everyone has had to make cuts.
And it’s only going to get worse.
There is a long-standing suggestion for dealing with hungry poor folks: “A Modest Proposal,” by Jonathan Swift. Come to think of it, we’ve got an administration who might just give it a try.
Interesting. I mocked this comment, got a bunch of ‘likes’ and my comment disappeared. Censor much, BDN?
IF the rich was taxed appropriately…………we could help these people. The working class that is obviously shrinking can’t hold up the welfare programs anymore. How about we let the rich help a little bit for awhile? There will always be people that need help/food/shelter. Let’s not become haters of the poor and hungry. Those folks that “abuse the system” will always know how to abuse the system. Those that are really hungry and poor, will starve and die!!
Those mean rich people. This is the same thing I hear from friends of mine who’ve never paid anything but sales and excise tax.
I’ve been reading newspapers and watching television news for nearly 50 years, and I don’t ever recall any news stories about people dying of starvation in New England. With all the government programs available and goodhearted people in the Northeast there’s no need of anyone starving unless someone wishes to do so. I know that I’d never let it happen if I saw someone who needed sustinence that badly!
We don’t live in a Utopian society, not everyone asks their neighbors for food and people are less prone to help each other more than ever because of the me, me types that exist more than ever.
I’ve fed people that are hungry but I can’t sustain their needs.
If the rich means every person who makes more then 100 grand a year and we taxed them at 100 percent it woudl not make a dent. Spending has to be cut. This country is like a college kid with a new cc buy buy buy and worry about paying later. Well it is later!!
Students with credit cards are insignificant compared with the coming student loan crisis, which some say will be worse than the mortgage crisis. We can thank those ‘job creators’ at for-profit colleges for it. “For profit colleges” have been accused of targeting veterans. The Government Accountability Office has investigated deceptive and questionable marketing practices at 15 for-profit colleges in seven states.
Education Management Corporation operates at least 5 colleges or universities where former Republican governor John Rettie “Jock” McKernan, Jr. holds the position of Executive Chairman. The Justice Department is now investigating Education Management Corporation. According to the 122-page complaint, Education Management got $2.2 billion of federal financial aid in fiscal 2010, making up 89.3 percent of its net revenues.
Let’s attack TANF! Let’s attack food stamps! Let’s attack Medicaid!
LET’S LET CORPORATE WELFARE CONTINUE BECAUSE THE MONEY IS GOING TO ‘JOB CREATORS’!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303812904577295930047604846.htmlhttp://www.nashuatelegraph.com/business/957483-192/student-loan-debt-may-weaken-economy-more.html
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/recovery-threatened-runaway-student-loan-071111816.html
http://www.npr.org/2012/04/09/150148966/for-profit-schools-under-fire-for-targeting-veteranshttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/09/education/09forprofit.html
Logic is gone. The fact is as stated if you taxed every person in the USA that makes over 100 grand a year at 100 percent you could not cover the spending. So exactly how would higher taxes on those that are “rich” help? If your spend more then you take in there is going to be problems. Programs may sound good and make some people fell good but if you can not pay for them whats the point. The debt grows every year and until we cut SPENDING it will never go down. Every person who works knows the formula. we make x per month we can not pay out more then x per month. When one makes x per month and spends more then x per month they either go to jail for stealing or court for not paying there bills. Unless you the government then you just increase the dept limit and go on. If the people of the USA operated in the same way the fed did the whole country would have gone under as everybody woudl live in big homes and drive expensive cars and when the bills came they would just say raise the debt limit I will pay someday..
Evidently these two groups don’t understand that they can’t sue the State without agreement from the legislature that the suit can go forward. What are the chances of that happening with a sitting Republican majority? Slim to none, I’d say.
If these advocacy people would put more time into trying to raise donations as they do spending money and costing more taxpayers money to defend our own paychecks they would be furtherahead rather than trying to keep such a big burden on taxpayers.
Govenor LePage is just a mean spirited individual, who got his when he was a socalled abused child.
Now, while driving to Sanford I heard a commercial for MaineCare, this is where they can save a lot of money. They do not need to advertise on the radio, they have info in Hospitals, and Maine Cancer Centers.
Once again, Governor LePage does have the interest of “Maine People Before Politics,” and certain Mainers should start realizing it. The waste in Maine government went on for too long(almost 40 years), and it will take more time to get back on track, so listen up people.
Hmm..I wonder if this has anything to do with the illegal changes, on a federal level, made to Mainecare. I guess these are the repercussions of having an incompetent, pathetic, embarrassment for a governor.
These groups won’t even reveal what they are suing over…. but the BDN gives them a headline?? Posh!!
I would imagine that what they are suing for will be outlined in the complaint as is usually the case with law suits.
The fact that there is a person / group suing the state over welfare just shows how far we have gone.
If you voted for LePage, you voted against your own interests, that is, unless you’re a multi-millionaire. You get what you deserve. As for the rest of us, we can take our college degrees, experience and skills out of state where we are appreciated — and that’s just what I am doing.
Is there any doubt about whether Maine can control its programs with this silliness? We export 15% of our property tax burden and still cannot collect enough to keep the liberals and their law firms happy. It has to stop before we become another European entitlement enclave. They have all proven you cannot live off debt forever.