Federal Officials Scale Back Maine's Plan For Medicaid Cuts
Jan 09, 2013 - Kaiser Health News
The Obama administration has denied Republican Gov. Paul LePage's idea to cut
health coverage for more than 20,000 low-income residents, but let stand
provisions that would cut benefits for another nearly 13,000 residents.
The
Associated Press: Federal Officials Scale Back Maine Medicaid Cuts
The
Obama administration has rejected Republican Gov. Paul LePage's plan to cut
health care coverage for more than 20,000 low-income Mainers but left intact
provisions approved by the former GOP-controlled Legislature that'll eliminate
benefits for another 12,600 residents. The administration denied Mainefs request
to eliminate Medicaid coverage for Maine parents who make between 100 percent to
133 percent of the federal poverty level and to drop coverage for 19- and
20-year-olds, changes that combined would have eliminated coverage to more than
20,000 people (Sharp, 1/8).
The
New York Times: Maine: Medicaid Purge Is Rejected
The Obama
administration rejected Gov. Paul R. LePage's request to drop thousands of
people from Medicaid rolls. Mr. LePage, a Republican, had sought to eliminate
Medicaid coverage for nearly 15,000 parents with incomes between the federal
poverty level ($23,050 for a family of four last year) and 133 percent of that
level ($30,657 for a family of four). He also wanted to end coverage for more
than 6,000 19- and 20-year-olds (Goodnough, 1/8).
The
Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Federal Officials Deny Maine's
Medicaid Cuts
Several states had suggested that the Supreme Court's opinion
last summer to nix penalties in the health law for states that chose not to
expand their Medicaid programs could have also lifted the law's ban on cuts to
their existing programs. The Obama administration told Mr. LePage's health and
human services commissioner, Mary Mayhew, that it doesnft believe thatfs the
case (Radnofsky, 1/8).
Politico
Pro: Administration Says Maine Can Make Some Medicaid Cuts
The Obama
administration has told Maine that it could make some Medicaid cuts, but not as
deeply as the state requested — and it's unclear whether Gov. Paul LePage will
keep fighting the feds on his preferred cuts. c CMS allowed Maine to reduce
income eligibility levels for certain groups, but the agency cited MOE in its
rejection of proposed cuts to parents and 19- and 20-year-olds. Maine's next
steps are uncertain, and a LePage spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a
request for comment (Millman, 1/8).