Maine Voters Green-Light Medicaid Expansion With First-Of-Its-Kind Ballot Initiative
Gov. Paul LePage (R) had vetoed five different attempts by lawmakers to expand the program. Other states have been closely watching the campaign, particularly Utah and Idaho, where newly formed committees are working to get Medicaid expansion on next year’s ballots.
The New York Times:
Maine Voters Approve Medicaid Expansion, A Rebuke Of Gov. LePage
Voters in Maine approved a ballot measure on Tuesday to allow many more low-income residents to qualify for Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, The Associated Press said. The vote was a rebuke of Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican who has repeatedly vetoed legislation to expand Medicaid. At least 80,000 additional Maine residents will become eligible for Medicaid as a result of the referendum. (Goodnough, 11/7)
Bangor (Maine) Daily News:
Maine Voters Back Medicaid Expansion
The question appeared on the 2017 ballot as a result of a blazing-fast collection of the required 61,123 signatures of registered Maine voters. The bulk of those signatures were collected on Election Day in November 2016, when staff and volunteers for Maine Equal Justice Partners and other advocacy groups fanned out across Maine. In all, the group gathered more than 65,000 signatures. (Cousins, 11/7)
The Associated Press:
Maine OKs Medicaid Expansion In First-Of-Its-Kind Referendum
The referendum represents the first time since the law took effect that the question of expansion had been put in front of U.S. voters. Some 11 million people in the country have gotten coverage through the expansion of Medicaid, a health insurance program for low income people. LePage vetoed five different attempts by the state Legislature to expand the program. Tuesday's vote follows repeated failures by President Donald Trump, a LePage ally, and his fellow Republicans in Congress to repeal the signature legislation of Obama, a Democrat. (11/8)
Portland (Maine) Press Herald:
Maine Becomes First State To Approve Medicaid Expansion By Popular Vote
Support for the measure appeared to be strongest along the coast and in southern Maine, but it also was backed by voters in parts of more conservative northern Maine. A string of towns along the state’s northern border with Canada backed the measure – in Fort Kent, for instance, 55 percent of voters approved of Medicaid expansion. ... [Robyn Merrill, executive director of Maine Equal Justice Partners,] said the referendum enjoyed wide support throughout Maine, including rural areas, small towns and in Maine’s cities. And, the message should spread beyond the state’s borders, she said. (Murphy and Lawlor, 11/7)
The Wall Street Journal:
Maine Votes To Expand Medicaid Under The Health Law
Supporters of the measure cheered its passage, which will extend Medicaid health benefits to all low-income adults in the state. Medicaid in Maine and other non-expansion states in many cases doesn’t cover working-age residents without children. State Sen. Thomas Saviello, a Republican who voted multiple times in favor of expanding Medicaid, said state residents recognized the program’s benefits. “They recognize what it takes to move this state forward, and in order to do that, you need to have a healthy population,” he said. “We are a poor state and it makes a huge difference in rural areas to have this expansion.” (Hackman and Levitz, 11/7)
The Washington Post:
Maine Just Resoundingly Became The First State To Expand Medicaid By Ballot Initiative
What happened in Maine could provide momentum for progressives to get voters in other states to expand Medicaid, such as Alaska and Idaho, where groups have already started similar Medicaid expansion ballot initiatives next year. “This will send a clear signal to where the rest of the country is on health care,” said Jonathan Schleifer, executive director of the Fairness Project, which helped put together the ballot initiative. As Republicans have tried to roll back Obamacare, public support for an active government role in health care has spiked. (Phillips, 11/7)