2017 Maine Question 2
An Act To Enhance Access to Affordable Health Care | |
| Source: Maine Secretary of State[1] |
| Elections in Maine |
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The Maine Medicaid expansion referendum, formally titled "An Act To Enhance Access to Affordable Health Care", is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that has qualified for the November 7, 2017 statewide ballot. It seeks to expand Medicaid eligibility under the terms of the Affordable Care Act, something which has been vetoed six times by Maine Gov. Paul LePage.
Background
Expanded eligibility for the Medicaid program, called MaineCare in Maine, was a provision of the Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. [2] The expansion was originally required of states as a condition of all federal Medicaid funding, but the United States Supreme Court ruled in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius that such expansion was optional for states. [3]
Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage has long been critical of the eligibility requirements for MaineCare, feeling that it was too easy to qualify for as it existed when he took office in 2010. [4] He was a staunch opponent of the Affordable Care Act, believing it to be unconstitutional and taking freedom from citizens. [5] LePage vetoed six efforts to expand MaineCare eligibility[6] and on one occasion called efforts by the Maine Legislature to write an expansion bill that would garner bipartisan support as having "no compassion". [7]
Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap announced that supporters of the measure submitted over 66,000 verified signatures, far above the 61,123 required to place a measure on the ballot. [6]
- ^ "Citizens Initiatives & People's Veto". Maine Department of Secretary of State.
- ^ Stolberg, Sheryl; Pear, Robert (March 23, 2010). "Obama Signs Health Care Overhaul Bill, With a Flourish". The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
- ^ "Analysis: U.S. Supreme Court Upholds the Affordable Care Act: Roberts Rules?". The National Law Review. von Briesen & Roper, S.C. June 29, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
- ^ "Paul Lepage Profile – Your Vote 2010". Archived from the original on December 31, 2010.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)MPBN. Retrieved October 28, 2010 - ^ "LePage calls Obamacare an expensive stripping away of freedom, says IRS is 'new Gestapo'". Bangor Daily News. July 7, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
- ^ a b "Medicaid expansion referendum headed to Maine ballot". Bangor Daily News. February 21, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
- ^ "LePage blasts Legislature's tilt toward Medicaid expansion". Kennebec Journal. January 17, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2014.