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Maine Approach to Affordable Care Act Still Up in the Air
With the Supreme Court's
ruling on the Affordable Care Act, some assumed that the status of
that law would be settled. Controversy and questions,
however, continue to abound in the healthcare arena. Maine is
not immune to this continued uncertainty.
This past legislative session, the
Insurance and Financial Services Committee extensively debated two
carryover bills that proposed two approaches in creating a health
insurance exchange as envisioned under the Affordable Care
Act. Ultimately, legislators adopted a "wait and
see" approach to the exchange and did not adopt legislation
creating one.
Speculation that the Affordable
Care Act would be declared unconstitutional, either in whole or in
part, may have made this "wait and see" approach to an
exchange seem prudent. With the law being upheld, however,
Maine now finds itself behind some states in the creation of an
exchange. Some decision makers still, however, may not be in
a hurry regarding the creation of a Maine exchange. Governor
LePage, for example, appears to want to wait until after the
November election before deciding on an approach to the
exchange. While there is resistance to the creation of an
exchange by those opposed to the Affordable Care Act, the default
for states without exchanges is a federal model, which may be even
more unpalatable to Affordable Care Act opponents.
Political Dispute Between Governor LePage and Congresswoman
Pingree on State Budget Matter
During this legislative session, a
Department of Health and Human Services supplemental budget, which
assumes reductions in Medicaid eligibility, was adopted by the
Legislature. These reductions require approvals from the
federal Department of Health and Human Services in the form of
waivers before they can be implemented. This week,
Congresswoman Pingree weighed in on the issue of waivers with
Secretary Sebelius, with the Congresswoman stating her opposition
to the reductions in Medicaid eligibility. This prompted a
reply by Governor LePage, who has a different view of this
matter. It is uncertain what, if any, effect Congresswoman
Pingree's actions will have on the federal
Department's consideration of the State's request
for waiver. This action has prompted front-page media
coverage as generally Maine's federal delegation does not
get involved in state-level matters, particularly as they relate to
the balancing of the State's budget.
Deadline for Legislative
Candidates to Withdraw has Passed
July 9th was the
deadline for legislative candidates to withdraw their names from
November's ballot. Withdrawing by this deadline
allows local party committees to nominate replacement candidates,
who will appear on the general election ballot. Five Senate
candidates and 43 House candidates notified the Secretary of State
that they were withdrawing by the Monday deadline.
The practice of candidates
withdrawing is not uncommon, as parties often use this procedure to
create more time to recruit serious candidates for the
Legislature. This year's number of withdrawals is
about average for the last few election cycles.
Interestingly, withdrawals have left four House districts without
any candidates, though replacements will be nominated (some already
have been). These four districts include part of Augusta,
part of Brunswick, part of South Portland and the Kittery
area.
Governor LePage Nominates Appointee for Adjutant General
Position
This week, Governor LePage announced the nomination of Colonel
James Campbell as Maine's Adjutant General. This
position involves serving both as the top ranking military leader
of the State and the Commissioner of the Department of Defense,
Veterans and Emergency Management. This nomination is subject
to the approval of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee and the
State Senate. Colonel Campbell would replace Major General
John Libby, who is retiring.
Colonel Campbell is a Colby graduate and holds degrees from the
University of Maine. Colonel Campbell has a long history
serving in the military, including serving as Executive Officer of
the University of Maine Army Reserve Officer Training Corps.
Currently, Colonel Campbell is serving as Deputy Division Chief of
the Operations Plans Division at United States Central Command in
Tampa, Florida.
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