MaineCare: Accepting Federal Funds
Submitted by andrew.francis on Thu, 05/05/2016 - 13:23
MaineCare: Accepting Federal Funds
From: www.covermainenow.com
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has set aside federal dollars for Maine to provide Medicaid coverage to approximately 69,500 people who would be uninsured otherwise. Adults with income up to 138% FPL ($16,105/year for an individual; $27,311/year for a family of three) would be eligible for MaineCare coverage. Maine is the only state in New England that hasn’t accepted the federal funding available under the ACA to extend coverage to its low-income uninsured. It isn’t too late. Maine can still accept the federal health care dollars available under the ACA.
Good Health Policy - Good for Maine’s Economy
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Provide health coverage to about 69,500 Maine people; the majority of whom work, including 3000 veterans.
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These individuals will be more likely to get primary care services that can prevent the need for more costly and complex care.
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Expanding MaineCare will help to improve the health of Maine’s children; when parents are covered and able to access healthcare their children are also more likely to receive the healthcare services they need in order to thrive.
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Create more than 3,100 jobs and preserve nearly 1,000 jobs here in Maine.
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Boost economic activity in all Maine counties, especially those with a high density of health care jobs
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Stimulate over $500 million in economic activity by infusing more than $256 million of new federal funds into Maine’s economy annually.
Full implementation of the ACA’s Medicaid option is a good deal for the State of Maine. The federal government will pay 100% of the cost of covering “newly eligible” individuals in Maine for three years, through December 31, 2016. After that, the federal contribution will be adjusted gradually until it reaches the permanent rate of 90% in 2020, far greater than the 64-cent rate it pays for current Medicaid members.
Most working low-income adults with income below 138% of the federal poverty level can’t afford health insurance. They have little to no discretionary income and cannot afford the out-of-pocket expenses that people in health care Exchanges will have to pay, even with available subsidies.
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