AUGUSTA, Maine — The state’s Medicaid director said Friday she’s still hopeful federal officials will approve Maine’s request to make about $20 million in cuts to its Medicaid program, and that the state will be able to make those cuts in time to fill a gap in the current state budget.
But if those plans fall through, she said, the state Department of Health and Human Services will have to request additional funding from Gov. Paul LePage and the Legislature to plug a Medicaid budget hole.
“At this point in time it would be a request for dollars,” Stefanie Nadeau, who directs the state’s Office of MaineCare Services, told the Bangor Daily News. “We don’t necessarily have a plan on how to fill the gap other than a supplemental request. That’s our contingency plan.”
Nadeau’s comments came a day after a federal court dismissed a lawsuit filed by Attorney General William Schneider to force a federal agency to expedite approval of Maine’s request to make about $20 million in cuts to its Medicaid program, also known as MaineCare.
The state had filed the request with federal officials on Aug. 1 seeking a decision by the start of September so the cuts could take effect Oct. 1. When the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services indicated it wouldn’t meet the state’s desired Sept. 1 deadline for ruling on the cuts, Schneider petitioned the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston to force an expedited decision.
That was the case a three-judge panel summarily dismissed on Thursday.
On Friday, Schneider said the judges’ decision was not a rejection of “Maine’s substantive legal arguments” that the Medicaid cuts in question are allowed by federal law. “We continue to believe that Maine has a strong legal argument on the substantive merits of this case,” he said in a written statement.
The cuts to the state’s Medicaid program — which lawmakers approved as part of two separate budget packages earlier this year — would eliminate coverage for 19- and 20-year-olds, tighten income eligibility requirements for low-income parents and scale back Medicaid access for elderly residents who also qualify for Medicare benefits. The reductions would affect coverage for 36,000 people, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Whether the reductions are legal has been a topic of debate throughout the year, since the Obama administration’s health care reform law largely bars states from cutting Medicaid services in advance of a planned 2014 expansion of the program.
A spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency reviewing Maine’s request to make cuts, has said only a portion of those reductions — changing the income threshold at which residents qualify for MaineCare from 200 percent of the poverty level to 133 percent — are likely allowed under federal law, but that the agency has been reviewing Maine’s request.
“We’re still hopeful that CMS is going to approve our state plan amendment in a timely manner and that we will be able to implement these changes as legislatively directed as quickly as possible,” Nadeau said.
But two lawmakers on the Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee said Friday it’s looking increasingly likely the LePage administration will have to find another way to plug the budget hole the Medicaid cuts are supposed to fill.
“It could be some time before we get a decision,” said Sen. Roger Katz, R-Augusta “and if it does, we undoubtedly will be facing a supplemental budget request to fund the program in the interim.”
Katz said he thinks Maine’s request to the federal government to make Medicaid reductions has merit. “We are optimistic for a favorable ruling,” he said.
But Democrats, from the start, “had no interest at all in considering any proposals for cuts where waivers would be needed,” said Rep. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston. “We felt then and continue to feel that the actions that our Republican colleagues took were fiscally irresponsible and are leaving people’s lives in limbo, which is terribly unfair.”
If the Department of Health and Human Services has to request additional funding from LePage, it falls to the governor’s office to find additional revenues or alternative cuts to balance the budget and propose those changes to the Legislature.
A spokeswoman for LePage declined comment on the Medicaid plan amendment this week, and LePage’s office hasn’t commented in the past on backup budget plans.
“I certainly would welcome hearing the governor’s ideas in terms of where he would propose to make up that difference,” Rotundo said. “This will be left to the Legislature to make decisions about come January.”
We SUED too late for special treatment and ““We don’t necessarily have a plan on how to fill the gap other than a supplemental request. That’s our contingency plan.”
How do you fill the gap with a supplemental request on a budget that’s millions of dollars in debt? Would be nice to know how you knowitalls would do this.
Well, with the well thought out “contingency plan” naturally.
The beauty of which is that Le Page’s dumb core supporters will blame the Feds
for how LePage can’t balance the budget AND cut taxes for the wealthy.What could be more obvious ?
Well let’s see, I’m certainly not wealthy, 64 and still working. However I was born and raised in the same country as some wealthy folks, had the same chances that they did. So let’s have them pay more for being successfull so others can sit on their butts. That sounds like a fair deal to you?
The Federal budget was balanced before Bush and his tax cuts.
Check the facts.
Actually Mr. Clinton left us with a SURPLUS!You won’t see one of those in ME until we get rid of these incompetent clowns.
Did the conservatives who came after him use it to pay down the deficit ?
lol
“So let’s have them pay more for being successfull so others can sit on their butts. That sounds like a fair deal to you?’
No, let’s have them pay more taxes because the cost of protecting their stuff is disproportionately more than protecting our stuff. The more you have, the more maintaining your wealth costs. If you don’t pay more, then everyone else has to. Adam Smith explained all this years ago.
That’s wonderful! So, you attended top prep schools, like (for one example) Romney did, and then Ivy League universities, and it was no burden to your wealthy parents, and you had no student loans to pay off? You got a superb education, which you then parlayed (with the help of your parents’ many political and corporate CEO connections) into easy access to well-paid jobs, culminating in a career that pays off in seven figures?
No, wait. You mentioned that you’re “certainly not wealthy.”
Are you absolutely certain that having been born in the same country as millionaires means you’ve had the same chances they did?
Or is it possible that people who have a ton of money have it a whole lot easier than those who don’t…
Romney is a perfect example. Thanks for backing me up. His father, George, born poor, never graduated college and made himself a millionaire!
I suspect his son Mittens had a lot easier time of it than George did.
You sure sound a lot older than 64, like a mind in the 90’s:)
Don’t blame me because you had your chance for success and failed!
The 1590’s
Then since you’re not wealthy,according to your worldview-YOU FAILED!How’s that taste?
Put in perspective. Mitt Romney thinks that the middle class tops at about $200,000 to $250,000. Let’s go with $240,000. Assuming that that $240,000 is taxed as ordinary income and not at the lower rate enjoyed by multi-millionaires like Romney, the tax burden could be about 25%, $60,000, leaving $180,000 as after tax income. Governor LePage’s tax reduction would save this earner about 1/2% on $200,000, the amount over $40,000, the bottom of the highest bracket. That is a saving of $1000. So this earner would have an after tax income of $179,000 instead of $180,000. That difference would probably not even be noticed.
Excuse me, but we are talking equality here. I do not align my 25 year old disabled neighbor, who has had kidney transplants and suffered through cancer twice to your 64 year old counterpart who is doing well financially. My son had open heart surgery four years ago to save his life. He lost his job, (and all health insurance coverage) his home to forclosure, and his family to the stress levels this all brought on. It took him two years to reclaim his health enough to support himself again. Now he is working to rebuild his life, but for a short time his only survival was his Mainecare.
I am getting angry here about comments like yours. If you are calling anyone who collects Mainecare a thief or criminal, you are out of line. Welfare is not a dirty word. It saves lives and we as American should be proud of that! Before welfare was established by Franklin D. Roosevelt, people died. Simply died!
We are talking equality here. If your wealthy counterpart is a 1%er, who can afford to funnel big money into the State of Maine in order to unethically disrupt our political process, then I’m saying the least he can do is pay his fair share of taxes.
Personally, i would have not budgeted cuts that violate Medicare rules. Call me crazy.
One could have started by not enacting a tax cut that banked on a waiver request likely to be denied.
Well, well, well DHHS, the Governor and DA are starting to understand their proposal is not going to work. Phew….wasn’t sure they were going to get it. All three of these Bozos are going to have to leave Maine after they done are to retain any credibility.
Along with over half the population when the money runs out!
What’s heartening is to read that they “don’t necessarily have a plan on how to fill the gap” should the waiver request be denied – as it likely will.
/snark
That is what comes of assuming cuts that have not yet been approved, and then trying to force the feds to rush their decision contrary to their policies and regulations. Now they have to figure out how to make their budget work based on reality, not hopes or plans.
LePage was told these cuts were not likely to be approved in March of this year.
.
Because of Le Page’s gross incompetence we will be caught up in a brand new made up budget “emergency”.
As usual LePage will resort to his old method of scare tactics like – close schools etc. anything other than what a real business manager would do is raise taxes for the “rich” not do his usual scare stuff. We need real leadership now!
In fact, HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius made clear that the waiver request would likely be denied in September 2011.
I for one Mrs. “Stefanie Nadeau”, think that Maine should do the right thing and take care of the people that can’t care for themselves. I think that you should be asking for more money! I think you should have asked for more money in the first place insted of cuts. I also think that the Department or Health and Human Services should fix the accounting system that has been broken since Gov. Boldarchie implimented it! The Department hasn’t been able to balance it’s accounts since that time and still dosn’t know where it’s money is going or even how much it has to spend. Let’s get the accounting problems fixed first… I bet you still don’t have an exact dollar amount yet…
Fact correction – this financial matter started way back when the boy wonder Jock was in office. Now in my opinion we have in office the “Worst” Governor ever elected in Maine history and his facts are guided by the lobbyists that direct him. Now start here and do the right thing and what ever you do don’t rely on Katz for direction, he works in reverse:)
Seems such a shame, the people, needing care, can be lawed out, the money goes to doctors and hospitals, that pay people, taxes, there is something wrong, 20 million, Susan Collins, look into this, stay out of doing things outside this country, it is time we the people counted, look into this, find the funding, one less bomb in storage, can make a difference, Susan Collins you got a headline today for looking overseas, how about coming up to Maine and looking this situation over. It’s Maine, ya know, up north from DC.
you got a aging population
So we elected a supposed businessman to run our State. The radical right has been telling us that we are broke. In fact the tea party parrot Republicans have been very good about telling us that. So their man gets elected. Remember now we are supposed to be broke so what does the “businessman ” do. He cuts taxes which is also known as revenue. Think for a minute. If you were not making enough money to pay your bills do you really think going to your boss and asking for a cut in pay would be the way to solve the problem? Of course not, but that is exactly what the LePage Administration did. After he had cut taxes and bragged about it he then “discovered” that there was going to be a shortfall in the DHHS budget. Amazingly enough this “shortfall” was almost equal to the tax cut that he had bragged about. So how to fix the problem. Well let’s cut people off from Mainecare. LePage acknowledged that it would require a waiver from the Federal Government , a waiver that in the history of the Nation the Feds had never granted but for some reason, probably because he is so special, LePage decided that they would grant one for him. The legislature goes ahead and cuts Mainecare like a butcher with a chainsaw and then instead of applying for a waiver as soon as the legislation was passed LePage decided to wait until after the Supreme Court had ruled on The Affordable Care Act which all tea party parrot Republicans figured the court would rule as unconstitutional. Then a really bad thing for LePage et al happened. The Supreme Court didn’t rule that ACA was unconstitutional and now LePage finds himself with his trousers around his ankles. Not to worry LePage does what he always has done bully someone. Only this time the someone is the Federal Government. He files his request for waivers in August and demands that the Feds who have 90 days by law to review the request give him an answer by Sept 1. That didn’t happen so he had our Attorney General petition the First Circuit Court of Appeals to make the Feds do what LePage demanded of them. The First Circuit took one look at the petition and then after they had stopped laughing and had changed the pants that they had wet from laughing so hard issued a one page ruling that basically said you have to be kidding don’t you Maine, 90 days means 90 days now go away. So now our fearless leader finds himself in another pickle. What does he do? He jumps on a plane and heads to China. So LePage is in China, the First Circuit Court of Appeals has laughed him out of court, we still have the same amount of people on Mainecare as we did before he started, there is no waiver from the Feds and there is no money in the budget. But at least we did give tax cuts to LePage’s wealthy buddies. This tea party parrot insanity has to end. Thankfully November 6th is just around the corner.
businessman???? ya, right!!!! He helped run Mardens…. Big deal…. a Salvage/Junk store!!!
my kids have more business skills they he does and there 16 and 11… He’s just there for the fame thats all… Nothing else…
Oh, did you forget to mention the big blunder about all the folks who were supposed to be taken off the DHHS roles, and yet were “forgotten” to be removed by a computer glitch. This number was almost exact to the amount of the “shortfall” that the DHHS budget was reporting, right? To my memory, the responsibility for that mess was placed squarely on the shoulders of the State’s Medicaid director. Am I wrong?
I keep wondering how long it will take for LaPage himself realizes that he is being playing for a fool by the big time, out of state money people who are using his foolishness and bullying to their gains. He pulls off all the blunders, bullying and damage, while they get all the benefits, (if any) he takes the rap and we get all the repercussion. Tell me, who’s laughing now?
Democrats think that you can just grow a bunch of money on trees to fund the behemoth that they created.
Shows what will happen if Republicans give each state vouchers to decide how they spend the money. Poor people will be screwed with no loving.
ROMNEY / RYAN 2012 !!!
The fiasco continues.Fire LePage,fire Mayhew and make them pay the amount spent on lawsuits out of their pockets instead of junkets in Fort Fairfield.MHPC has plenty of $$ for this.
The taxpayers and those whose lives are thrown upside down by this idiocy don’t.
Good luck with that. You’re advocating for the poor. Our orphaned Governor doesn’t believe in that.
This is not new news. We always knew that there would be a budget hole if the waiver was not approved.
Yup, and it was always highly probable that DHHS would deny the waiver request. LePage insisted on this delusional plan and the Republican-controlled Legislature as well as the politically ambitious AG Schneider played along. How far will they push this delusion?
Maine desperately needs responsible leadership and unfortunately it’s not coming from the LePage administration.
No more money…
The lawmakers and gov.are really going after the cuts to the mainecare programs when all they need to do is set back and discuss cuts to their perks and salary cuts and get rid of the double dipping positions and all of the govs.middle management do nothing and paid big money positions and that would save the millions they are cutting the small working class people. Cant wait till november.