Lawmakers should pass legislation to expand coverage of MaineCare to Mainers who can’t afford health insurance.

Gov. LePage has vetoed legislation five times to expand Medicaid in Maine, denying MaineCare coverage to 70,000 Maine people, most of whom work, including 3,000 veterans.

Many of these uninsured people fall into the health insurance coverage gap because their income is too high to qualify for Medicaid and not enough to qualify for a subsidy to help pay premiums for insurance obtained in the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

A majority of the uninsured trapped in this coverage gap are women. Even though women are more likely than men to qualify for Medicaid in states not expanding their programs, women account for 53 percent of adults in the coverage gap. This occurs because women, who typically earn less than men, make up the majority of poor uninsured adults in states not expanding their programs.

Besides the need to increase the minimum wage to help remedy this disparity, the governor and Legislature need to accept the $256 million in federal Medicaid funds that would create more than 3,100 jobs and stimulate over $500 million in economic activity in Maine annually.

It is now time for Maine to join the rest of the New England states in helping provide health insurance to as many of its citizens as possible and for the Legislature to expand MaineCare by joining together to pass legislation that cannot be overridden by the governor’s veto.

Contact your state representatives and senators to tell them it is time for us to move away from ideology and work toward providing affordable health care to all Mainers.

Scott Vonnegut

Portland

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