Cash and slash
Proposed DHHS cuts spark protests
- Lawmakers seek budget answers
- Job losses expected
Lawmakers on the Appropriations and Health and Human Services committees considering Gov. Paul LePage's proposed budget expect it will take weeks before they can hammer out a package to fill the estimated $220 million hole in the state's Medicaid budget.
"I can't begin to say how long it will take us," said Sen. Richard Rosen, R-Bucksport, co-chairman of the Appropriations Committee. "We have asked for a lot of information and we need to have that and understand it before we can move forward."
Rep. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, the lead Democrat on the panel, said the numbers presented by the LePage administration "do not add up." She said it will take a long time for the panel to get answers to the scores of questions sent to DHHS. "We don't think we should be dealing with this budget without looking at all of the state budget and other needs we know will be coming before us," she said.
Over 300 Mainers testified on the proposals during public hearings, with only a handful supporting the governor's plan. Many testified the plan will hurt Maine's economy and cost jobs. The Maine Center for Economic Policy released a study during the hearings that predicted the proposed Medicaid cuts would cost 4,400 jobs statewide with more than 1,000 in Cumberland County alone.
The proposal would eliminate a wide variety of optional Medicaid programs, including those that provide health insurance to 19- and 20-year-olds, insurance for low-income childless adults, substance abuse programs and housing at non-medical institutions where thousands of Mainers live and get care for dementia, mental illness and drug addiction.
Michael Gendreau, from Mercy Hospital in Portland, said the proposal would result not only in cuts, but in the total elimination of some hospital programs.
"If the proposed cuts in the eligibility are approved, we believe that the Recovery Center will be forced to close, cutting off treatment to thousands of people," he said. "Also closure would result in the loss of approximately 100 jobs."
LePage said he expected some job losses, but did not say if his administration had done a study to estimate the impact.
"It's important you understand, this is not something I want to do or I take great pride in doing," he said. "I understand that if I do nothing, many nursing homes will close down, because come April 1, if we do nothing we will be broke."
LePage wants energy committee replaced
- Expresses frustration with gov't pace
- Stance angers Democrats
Gov. Paul LePage says he'd like to change the makeup of the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee to improve the prospects of energy bills he expects to submit in the Legislature's second session.
"We need to change the configuration of the committee," he said in an interview. "I can't change the laws without the Legislature. If they choose not to fix it, there is nothing I can do."
LePage said the committee and the Legislature went "in the wrong direction" last session by increasing the percentage of renewable energy sources in the state's supply of electricity. He prefers that the amount be lowered so the state can access cheaper electricity.
"In my budget of last February, I asked the Legislature to address energy costs, and they chose not to," he said. "I am going back up this time and saying,'If you don't, we will remain 50th [in business climate] and I don't want that.'"
The leadership of the panel expressed surprise at the governor's blanket statement about the committee. Sen. Mike Thibodeau, R-Winterport, a co-chairman of the panel, said while he knew the governor was not pleased with the panel, it fairly considered all of his proposals. He said he agrees with LePage that a petition to force consideration of a bill that would set a 50% target for renewable energy sources is wrong.
Others expressed concerns with the governor's tactics.
"The governor is intruding on legislative turf," said Rep. Jon Hinck, D-Portland, the lead Democrat on the committee. "He should stay on the second floor [of the State House], and if there is something he wants the Legislature to do, he can request it."
He said it is up to the Legislature to set policy, which it has done in a bipartisan manner with energy policy.
Rep. Stacey Fitts, R-Pittsfield, the House chairman of the panel, said while the governor is obviously frustrated with the legislative process, he has to realize it is different from the business world and work to convince lawmakers he is right, not just tell them he is right.
Sen. Phil Bartlett, D-Gorham, the Democratic senator on the panel, agreed.
"I have said a number of times that the governor has some good ideas around natural gas and trying to find ways to lower energy costs," he said. "The problem is, he wants it his way or the highway and will not come to the table and negotiate."
LePage acknowledged that he is frustrated, not only with the pace of the Legislature, but with government itself.
"I will tell you what I told my staff," he said. "In the private sector, business operates like a rabbit, very quick. In government, we operate as snails. If I can get the state of Maine to operate like a turtle, I will be enormously successful."
Ponte exploring Medicaid for prisoners
- Eyes untapped resources
- Rx comparison shopping nets gain
Corrections Commissioner Joe Ponte is examining several options to lower the state's medical costs for inmates, including invoking a little-used allowance to tap the federally funded Medicaid program for coverage.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services informed states in 1997 that inmates who leave a prison facility and are admitted to a hospital for more than 24 hours and meet poverty and other Medicaid guidelines are eligible for coverage. "We don't have that many cases where this would apply, but there are some," Ponte said. "We also are limited in that the inmate has to agree to apply for the Medicaid, and they certainly won't always do that."
He said his staff is trying to shift medical costs from the state where possible. He said a program in juvenile corrections requires parents of incarcerated kids to cover their children on their private health insurance while the children are in state custody.
"We are exploring if there are any [similar] situations in the adult side," he said.
Ponte said he is trying to cut costs through policy changes, such as narrowing approved procedures. "We have also lowered drug costs just by comparing to the national average," he said. For example, he said, the state has been paying $35 for a psychotropic prescription when the national average cost of the drug is $8.
Ponte said his efforts are aimed at reducing state health cost for inmates until 2014, when the federal health care reform act will cover all inmates with incomes less than 133% of the federal poverty level.
"That's 95% if not 99% of the inmates," he said. "That will be a significant savings because it will cover all health care costs under Medicaid, not just the hospital part."
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments