The ranking Republican lawmakers on the Maine Legislature’s Appropriations Committee have come out against a bill that would increase MaineCare coverage for noncitizens.

“We, the ranking Republican members of the Joint Standing Committee on
Appropriations and Financial Affairs, write in opposition to LD 782, ‘An Act to Amend
MaineCare Financial Eligibility Requirements,’” wrote State Sen. Susan Bernard (R-Aroostook) and Rep. Jack Ducharme (R-Madison) in a Wednesday letter to the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee.

“This bill proposes increasing the income and asset limits for several MaineCare
populations and expanding the population of noncitizens eligible for MaineCare aged 20 and younger to those aged 22 and younger,” they wrote.

Under current state law, noncitizens legally admitted to the U.S. under 21 years of age are eligible for Medicaid, granted that coverage is allowable by federal law. The statute in question deals with defining rules regarding Medicaid coverage for the elderly, children, pregnant women and disabled individuals.

LD 782, sponsored by Sen. Denise Tepler (D-Sagadahoc), would amend state law to raise the age of Medicaid eligibility for noncitizens to under 23 years of age.

The bill would also expand coverage under MaineCare by raising family income limits to above the poverty line, and asset limits from $8,000 to $15,000 for an individual, and from $12,000 to $25,000 for a household.

“While no fiscal note is available at this time, this bill will undoubtedly cost millions of dollars and further strain a program that remains perpetually underfunded,” Sen. Bernard and Rep. Ducharme wrote.

Last month, the Legislature passed a $118 million “continuing services” budget in order to bailout the MaineCare program.

“Choosing to expand MaineCare eligibility at such a time when it is already severely
underfunded is ill-advised at best and financially reckless at worst,” the Appropriations Committee Republicans wrote. “While we can certainly empathize with the desire to provide coverage to more elderly and disabled individuals, the Legislature’s failure to address the program’s existing long-term sustainability makes such considerations irresponsible.”

“Maine government must learn to meet its existing obligations and promises before
making new ones,” they wrote, urging the Health and Human Services Committee to vote ought not to pass on LD 782.

The bill had a public hearing before the Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday, and will be scheduled for a work session before potentially advancing before the House and Senate.

Read Sen. Bernard and Rep. Ducharme’s full letter below: