Medicaid expansion an ethical obligation
Gov. Paul LePage and those opposing Medicaid expansion in Maine often downplay its primary benefit — health coverage for 80,000 low-income Mainers.
Opponents of expansion are fond of saying these are able-bodied people — with the clear implication that they are shirkers, scamming the system for a free ride to health care. The reality is that most of these people are employed. But they work part-time jobs with no benefits (often several jobs at a time) or their employers don’t offer health insurance, and they can’t afford their share of the premiums, co-pays and deductibles for plans they currently qualify for under the Affordable Care Act.
Yet, we know health insurance would be both life-enhancing and, in some instances, life-saving for these Mainers. A 2012 Harvard School of Public Health study of three states found that expanding Medicaid to low-income adults improved health care outcomes and reduced mortality. One of these states was Maine, which first expanded its Medicaid program back in 2002.
Opponents of Medicaid expansion in Maine conclude it isn’t needed. Apparently, the Republican governors who expanded Medicaid in their states disagreed. These included the leaders of New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana (under then Gov. Mike Pence). They saw wisdom in extending health coverage to more low-income citizens under financial terms that are very favorable to their states. Perhaps some of these governors even saw expansion as an ethical obligation.
LePage doesn’t see it this way; let’s hope the voters of Maine do.
David Jolly
Penobscot
Climate change threat
According to the 2016 Yale Climate Opinion Maps, less than 50 percent of people in Penobscot County believe that climate change is already harming people in the United States. This is especially concerning, considering that Maine’s economy is heavily reliant on the shellfish industry, which is already being threatened by ocean acidification.
Moreover, 97 percent of climate change scientists agree that climate change is driven by anthropogenic activities. With this, I encourage practitioners to use the stories of fishermen and lobstermen, whose lives are intimately affected by climate change, as method of informing Penobscot County about the threats that climate change poses to Maine’s shellfish industry. With the well-being of our planet coming under scrutiny by our current administration, it is critical that the people of Maine understand the shellfish industry’s susceptibility to ocean acidification.
Awareness and understanding of global environmental changes is critical to gaining support for improved management of marine ecosystems. The BDN can play a critical role in spreading awareness and understanding of climate change topics, such as ocean acidification, that affect Maine.
Alicia Oberholzer
Orono
Expand Medicaid
On Nov. 7, Maine voters will be asked whether they support expanding the state’s Medicaid program, known as MaineCare, a federal-state partnership providing quality health care to low-income individuals and families. Healthy Acadia strongly supports a yes vote on Question 2. If the referendum is approved, an estimated 80,000 Mainers would qualify for MaineCare, and federal funding would flow into our state to support their health care needs.
As a community health coalition serving Hancock and Washington counties, Healthy Acadia focuses on a broad range of collaborative community initiatives, including Strong Beginnings, Substance Prevention and Recovery, Health Promotion and Management, Healthy Food for All, Active and Healthy Environments, and Healthy Aging.
Through our efforts, we see first hand the devastation that the lack of affordable health care creates. We struggle to help people recover from opioid use disorders because they do not have health coverage and cannot afford the treatment that they so urgently need and deserve. We work with families having to choose between food and medicine because they do not have insurance to cover needed medical costs. We see people who delay needed tests and treatment — missing the chance to prevent or manage an illness, hurting themselves and their families. These struggles happen every day.
We strongly believe that access to quality, affordable health care for all is a basic human right, and that voting yes on Question 2 is a critical step toward building healthy and vibrant communities across Maine. It is more important than ever that we stand together, in support of more affordable health care, not less.
Elsie Flemings
Executive director
Healthy Acadia
Ellsworth
Just vote
It’s easy to get discouraged with the seeming impossibility of getting anywhere politically. People vote, presidents win with minorities. People vote, our representatives don’t always do what we want. People vote, referendums pass, politicians undo them.
Some would say, why vote? I say, vote more. Vote every single time, for every single thing on the ballot. The system isn’t perfect; nothing is. We need to vote like our democracy depends on it, because it does. We need to vote to make sure our voices and the voices of our children are heard at all.
If you don’t like the options on the ballot, vote for the best thing there, and then start voting in primaries. If you don’t like the leadership of political parties, join them and start voting in their elections. If the politicians aren’t addressing issues that you care about, find others who care about that issue and start organizing to get it on the ballot so we can vote for it.
The more overwhelmingly referendums pass, the less politicians can make excuses to mess with them. The more politicians we elect who respect the referendum process, the more referendums will be respected. The more politicians we elect who share our values, the less we have to go to the trouble of passing things by referendum in the first place. The more politicians we elect who support reforms to make our system more democratic, the more democratic it will become.
Vote, vote, vote until your vote matters as much as it should.
April Thibodeau
Westport Island
Trump, a role model
Our 14-year-old son told us he has made President Donald Trump his role model. We had no idea what this meant until he received a failing grade in math. According our son, he read in a scientific magazine that parents who force their children to eat a healthy breakfast are responsible for their children’s failing school grades.
Charlie Cameron
Addison