Despite being rejected five times previously, once again, a push to expand MaineCare—the state’s Medicaid program—will be debated. For the sixth time, the LePage Administration and this Department will stand against it The truth is Maine has already experienced the devastating consequences of expanding Medicaid under previous Administrations. When Maine expanded in 2001 and again in 2003, it led to annual shortfalls in MaineCare of $50 million to more than $100 million. As a result, the state stopped paying its bills, racking up hundreds of millions in debt owed to Maine’s hospitals. We cannot afford to abandon the sound financial management…
Author: Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Health and Human Services
The Department of Health and Human Services, under the leadership of Commissioner Ricker Hamilton, serves approximately one-third of the people of Maine. DHHS provides health care and social service support to children, families, the elderly, the disabled, people with mental illness or substance abuse issues and the poor.
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has implemented a new rule to detect and deter EBT card trafficking. Under the new requirement, the Department’s Office for Family Independence (OFI) can withhold a fifth EBT replacement card within a 12 month period until the client makes contact with the Department and provides an explanation for the volume of requested cards. “This is another common sense measure to protect benefits for those who are truly eligible and to guard against fraud and abuse of the welfare benefit. When someone requests numerous replacement EBT cards over the course of a…
AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced yesterday its ongoing plan to use more than $89 million in funds generated through Governor Paul R. LePage’s common-sense welfare reforms. The Department’s plan will ensure the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program is adequately funded to handle potential downturns in Maine’s economy, as well as support programs that are critical to protecting children and assisting families on their path to independence and self-sufficiency. In his initial budget, Governor LePage proposed, and the legislature approved, a lifetime limit of 60 months for individuals receiving cash and other assistance…
AUGUSTA — Today the Department of Health and Human Services released the fiscal note attached to Senator Tom Saviello’s bill to expand Medicaid. It will cost Maine taxpayers more than $500 million over the next five years. “Medicaid expansion is not free, and the current proposal by Senator Saviello would cripple the financial stability this Administration has worked tirelessly to establish and erode the progress made to prioritize the needs of our elderly and disabled. Expansion has already driven large budget shortfalls in many other states, and Maine knows full well the reality of Medicaid expansion having made these mistakes…