MaineCare should include dental care
Poor dental health impacts both individuals and their families. Being able to provide and take care of a family becomes increasingly difficult when someone is suffering.
As someone who’s had both parents subjected to rotting teeth, severe infections and more, it’s easy to say that it affects home life. I have spent a lot of time having to take care of my sister as my parents lay in bed, crying from pain.
My mother was lucky enough to get dentures, but it took years, and it wasn’t until all of her teeth were destroyed. It restricted us when it came to being able to afford other things like school pictures or new clothes. Money went to saving up for dentures.
My father is still hurting, and hopes for the last of his teeth to be fixed before they’re all gone. It’s vital that he’s treated. He primarily takes care of my sister and I — it’s become strenuous for him to provide for the family.
With the pain he suffers from, tasks such as cleaning, cooking and even having a conversation can be arduous.
Having a disabled mother, and a father in constant pain, means that family activities are limited. It’s often stopped us from doing things. It’s harder to attend school events, go to appointments or just play games together.
There’s many reasons dental care needs to be covered in MaineCare, these are only a few examples from my own story. Please, support this change in dental care coverage for struggling families like mine.
Shayden Gustin
Garland
Protect Maine ratepayers in the Emera Maine sale
This week, two electric utilities, along with intervenors including the Office of the Public Advocate, filed a stipulation agreement to the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regarding the sale of Emera Maine to ENMAX Corporation of Calgary, Alberta. This stipulation, which includes reliability safeguards and financial protections, provides commitments for the potential sale. If approved by the Public Utilities Commission, it would result in a change of utility provider for more than 150,000 customers in eastern and northern Maine.
As a legislator who represents customers currently served by Emera Maine, I urge the Public Utilities Commission to carefully review the stipulation with special attention to protecting Maine ratepayers from possible corporate bankruptcy or financial turmoil. As a Fairpoint employee who worked through the sale of Verizon to Fairpoint, I believe that Fairpoint had the best intentions but neither the financial nor the managerial resources to acquire Verizon. Similarly, I appreciate the efforts of all parties involved in crafting the stipulation; however, there are conditions in the stipulation that are not as rigorous as prior testimony by the Office of the Public Advocate indicated they should be.
Additionally, the stipulation only generally mentions environmental considerations without any actionable practices to help us address climate change. Protecting Emera Maine’s ratepayers and ensuring that they benefit from this sale must be the Commission’s top priority. With so much at stake both for Maine customers and our environment, now is not the time to compromise.
Rep. Michelle Dunphy
Old Town
Testimony from the president
Why is President Donald Trump refusing to testify and defend himself in person in the impeachment process? Many of us would like to hear his personal defense.
Nancy Allen
Brooksville
Failures in Afghanistan
Thank you for publishing that extensive article on the failure of the Afghanistan conflict. As many of us have suspected, we seem to have learned nothing from Vietnam. Because failure cannot be tolerated in our system, our leaders distort the truth to serve their own purposes. Is it any wonder that so many of us view with skepticism the proclamations of leading politicians and military officials?
George LaBar
Dresden
Trump’s petty insult
The President of the United States just insulted Greta Thunberg, a teenager on the autism spectrum, because she had the temerity to win Time Magazine’s person of the year. Talk about vile! Talk about petty! Not a good day to be an American.
Jim Alciere
East Machias