Maine Expanded Medicaid Under the ACA By Referendum

Voters in Maine voted to expand access to Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). Maine was the first in the nation to settle the issue by referendum.^[1]

That is the good news for supporters of the Affordable Care Act.

With that said, the law’s supporters also got troublesome news this week. This week HHS announced new rules for Medicaid expansion waivers. Also, Governor Paul LePage has refused to comply with the people’s wishes as expressed by their votes.

Work requirements are favored by Republicans, who believe that they will get those on Medicaid back to work.

However, work requirements are criticized by Democrats for indirectly targeting those who can’t find employment or for who employment is not an option (like the homeless or people living in regions where there is a lack of jobs).

Learn more about the ongoing debate over Medicaid and work requirements.

Learn more about the new HHS rules from the Washington Post’s The Health 202: Work requirements are on their way for Medicaid.

“Maine is one of 19 states whose Republican governors or legislatures have refused to expand Medicaid under Obamacare. Other holdouts like Utah and Idaho are closely watching the initiative, as newly formed committees in both those states are working to get a Medicaid expansion question on next year’s ballot. The outcome may offer clues about the salience of the issue in next year’s midterm congressional elections.”

– You can get the full story from the NYTimes article: Election Results: Maine Medicaid Expansion.

1. the NYTimes article: Election Results: Maine Medicaid Expansion