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March 16, 2009

MaineCare faces $65M shortfall

By The Mainebiz News Staff

Lawmakers in Augusta learned on Friday that MaineCare, the state's Medicaid program, faces an additional $65 million gap in the current fiscal year that ends June 30.

Ryan Low, commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, told the Legislature's Appropriations Committee on Friday that the recession is increasing the use of MaineCare services. He said Gov. John Baldacci intends to use the $113 million in federal stimulus funds for the MaineCare program for fiscal 2009, which ends June 30, to cover the $65 million shortfall, though that would require the Legislature's approval, according to the Statehouse News Service. The plan would leave $45 million for back payments to hospitals, according to the Associated Press.

Republican lawmakers were furious at the news. Senate Republican leader Kevin Raye of Perry questioned the timing of the announcement, which he called "disturbing" in a statement. "... this information was unveiled on a Friday afternoon, less than 72 hours after the governor's State of the State address, in which there was no mention of a gaping shortfall."

David Farmer, the governor's spokesperson, told the Statehouse News Service that the administration had been tracking the increased MaineCare usage since November, but an estimate of the shortfall was not available until recently.

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