Politics
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A year and a half after lawmakers approved $2.6 million to bail out the struggling Maine Veterans’ Homes, the nonprofit that cares for Mainers who served in the military is set to finally receive a portion of that money this week.
But the partial payment will not yet unlock all of the additional $5.5 million in federal matching dollars that state lawmakers and Gov. Janet Mills intended for the operator of six veterans’ homes in Maine to receive when they approved pulling money from a medical marijuana fund in July 2023 to help close the nonprofit’s funding gap of more than $10 million.
The arrival of some money after a long bureaucratic wait is still welcome news for Maine Veterans’ Homes, which serves more than 500 veterans at facilities in Bangor, Augusta, Caribou, South Paris, Machias and Scarborough. The Legislature established the organization as a quasi-state entity in 1977 and has previously bailed it out amid debates on how to sustain the homes in the face of a gap between Medicare rates and the cost of caring for veterans.
Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Lindsay Hammes said Wednesday that Maine Veterans’ Homes will receive about $2.1 million, with that total including $813,153 in state funding and about $1.3 million in federal funds.
It was not immediately clear why it took until this week to start doling out the money approved in 2023, but the state notified Maine Veterans’ Homes of the payment update Wednesday. It came after Sen. Brad Farrin, R-Norridgewock, a veteran who sponsored the funding bill, along with the nonprofit’s leaders, the chairs of the Legislature’s veterans committee — Rep. Laura Supica, D-Bangor, and Sen. Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop — and a Democratic aide contacted the Mills administration Tuesday and Wednesday to ask about the delay.
Maine Veterans’ Homes CEO Brad Klawitter said the state notified his group Wednesday morning of a payment arriving at the end of this week. It is less than $2.6 million and does not include the full federal match, but Klawitter said Maine Veterans’ Homes is grateful to the Legislature and Mills for the funding.
“Like most long-term care facilities, we are still recovering from the pandemic,” Klawitter said. “This and future funding is critical to fulfilling our mission of ‘caring for those who served.’”
Policymakers have discussed for years how to better fund Maine Veterans’ Homes on a long-term basis, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic. The six homes typically only receive funding from Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance and charitable donations.
Last year, Maine Veterans’ Homes officials asked lawmakers for $3.1 million annually to sustain operations, but the bill from then-Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, died after the Legislature passed it but did not give it funding.
Farrin said both sides of the aisle agree that “we’ve got to take care of our veterans.”
“Everyone agrees it’s the right thing to do,” Farrin said.