Maine’s Republican Governor LePage Considers Expanding Medicaid

But First He Has to Kick 20,000 People Off Health Care

As logic and reality sets in more Republican Governors are giving up their ideological opposition to Medicaid expansion and thinking, “gee, the Federal Government will inject billions into our health care system and relieve the state and hospitals of paying for indigent patients, maybe that’s not such a bad thing”.  The rather nasty and vindictive Governor of Main, Paul LePage is one of the possible converts.

Maine’s governor, Republican Paul LePage, has dialed back his staunch opposition to Medicaid expansion and entered discussions with the Obama administration over the possibility of accepting billions in federal funding to provide health insurance for the state’s poorest residents.

The apparent shift comes just weeks after eight other Republican governors, once vocal critics of Obama’s national healthcare overhaul law, surprised conservatives by announcing their intent to expand Medicaid to those with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line.

Yes accepting the program would mean billions for health care in Maine, a state that has been hard hit by economic troubles and hard hit by electing a governor who is more interested in alienating people and pursuing his own agenda rather than helping people.  So Gov. LePage may well relent and allow low income people in his state to get the same thing he gets, government paid for health care insurance.

But first the Governor has to deal with this.

A Globe report last month highlighted how LePage, the sole governor in New England refusing to expand Medicaid, was going a step further and dropping current recipients from the rolls beginning in March.

By the end of the year, more than 44,000 Mainers, about 13 percent of the state’s Medicaid population, were scheduled to be dropped from the government-subsidized health insurance program.

Bennett said the March 1 cuts impacting 20,000 low-income parents, seniors and the disabled would remain in effect even if LePage were to expand Medicaid.

Yep, can’t have low income parents, senior or the disabled getting health care.  Sets a bad example, next they might want decent housing, nutrition and even education for themselves or their children.