LePage has vetoed five attempts by the Legislature to approve Medicaid expansion, but would not be able to do so if voters approve the referendum on Nov. 7, a consideration that spurred the effort by an advocacy group to put the measure on the ballot. About 80,000 additional Mainers would become eligible for the program if the ballot measure were to succeed, according to the nonpartisan Maine Office of Program and Fiscal Review, although those with income above the poverty line currently qualify for subsidized coverage through the Obamacare marketplace. In all, more than 2.5 million poor uninsured adults across the country would gain access to Medicaid if the holdout states expanded the program, joining about 11 million who have already signed up under the law.
– On Nov. 7, Maine will take an unprecedented step for a state when it allows residents to vote on expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, the New York Times reports. Maine is one of 19 states where Republicans have blocked Medicaid expansion available under the ACA. The Maine legislature has voted repeatedly to expand Medicaid only to have Gov. Paul LePage veto expansion five times. However, if expansion is approved by voters through a referendum next month, LePage would be unable to veto it. If the referendum passes, approximately 80,000 more Maine residents making up to 138% of the poverty level will be eligible for Medicaid. In addition to decreasing the number of uninsured Maine residents, supporters of the referendum say it will add jobs and help rural hospitals stay open. LePage, while attacking Maine hospitals for their support of the referendum on Friday, said it would take "resources away from our most vulnerable Mainers" to "give free taxpayer-funded healthcare to adults who should be working and contributing," the Press Herald reports. Under the ACA, at least 90% of Medicaid expansion costs would be covered by the federal government. The other 18 states where Medicaid expansion has been blocked are carefully watching what happens in Maine. It's estimated more than 2.5 million Americans would gain access to health care if all 19 holdout states allowed Medicaid expansion.