In Maine, Medicaid spending was basically the same in 2013 as it was in 2009. Maine spends the least of any New England state, and is in the middle of the pack nationally per recipient.

If these 60,000-70,000 people had insurance they would probably have a regular doctor, and a preventive health-care plan for their family so that problems could be nipped in the bud, not waiting until the emergency room is the only option.

Most young couples starting out are working part-time jobs for a barely survivable wage, with little if any money left after monthly bills. A 2013 Rand study found that the 14 states that didn’t expand medicaid would collectively spend $1 billion more. The Supreme Court ruled that states that accepted federal funding for ACA to expand could opt out at any time.

As the expansion for health-care coverage sits on the governor’s desk, a bill he has vowed to veto, let’s hope that those members of the Legislature who previously voted against this bill have a change of heart, and override the veto by more than the two-thirds requirement.

Dale E. Whitmore
Freeport