Maine Governor at odds with providers of care for children, elderly
Seventy five thousand beneficiaries may be cut by Maine's Medicaid system this year. MaineCare supports Maine's elderly, children and indigent, and while Governor Paul LePage stands by his cuts, beneficiaries and healthcare providers deem them "unacceptable."
The cuts come in an effort to save $200 million in Medicaid costs over one or two years. Throwing those Mainers into the deep end or cutting payments to healthcare providers is the only way to save that much money in a timely manner, according to LePage.
"Back in the eighties, the State of Maine cut a program that paid professional and non-professional people to visit the elderly at home and help do chores for them," commented @FryeFighter on the Kennebunk Journal blog. "Now, due to fraud and the economy, Maine has to tighten up even more, adding the strain not only to the elderly, but the families as well. When will this stop?"
@rusjan, commenting for the Bangor Daily News, says that he'd rather wood-chip 2,000 people's incomes rather than 65,000 people's benefits. "It's not going to work, (LePage's) own party's representatives say the same. The feds won't grant a waiver, and he is not providing true numbers."
In December, the state's joint budget committee held four hearings on LePage's proposals. The panel is still in the early stages of drafting a budget adjustment bill, according to American Medical News.
Gordon Smith, executive vice president of the Maine Medical Association, said that Medicaid cuts of this size would cost the state millions in federal Medicaid matching funds. "It is truly setting back healthcare in Maine a couple of decades," Smith said.
"Another contributing factor to high healthcare costs in Maine, I believe, is a lack of competition on the provider side - particularly in the specialties," commented @perrobark on a Portland Press Herald blog. "Handling this through Medicaid at the state level just means providers will leave if there is no private alternative. The irony is that there's no lack of providers in Maine. We have an overabundance of empty hospital beds and physicians."
But Maine is the oldest state in the nation. It has an older, poorer and more disabled population than many other states, yet many argue it is more liberal when it comes to caring for these individuals. "Maine is one of the most generous states in the nation with MaineCare," remarked @DavidHa on Bangor Daily News. "It is becoming more and more obvious we can no longer afford to be one of the most generous in the nation."
@GovernmentIStheproblem responded by saying the older and poorer population is why Maine doesn't have as much money to spend as some of the other states. All that money from the budget has gone to Medicare and Medicaid. "What LePage is trying to do is raise the eligibility requirements to the national average. Our overly liberal eligibility standards have made a difficult problem much worse."
So where will this leave those who get cut in the Pine Tree State?
We spoke with Lisa Harvey-McPherson, RN, and vice president of continuum care at Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems. She said The Appropriations and Health & Human Services Committees met last week on the proposed cuts to PNMI's (Private Non-Medical Institutions), and Commissioner Mayhew explained that Maine must redesign the program to come into compliance with CMS rules.
"The committees expressed sentiment to continue to fund the program while the department files the necessary waivers to transition into compliance," she said. "No vote was taken but representatives of both parties commented unity in opposition to the proposed elimination of PNMI services." She added that as it stands, if the committee funds the PNMI program, they would need to identify other sources to fund the $60 million that is required.
Where should states draw the line between providing healthcare services to the needy and recouping debt? Tweet us @HFNewsTweet.
