Funding remains at heart of Medicaid expansion conflict as Maine high court hears case

In this Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017, file photo supporters of Medicaid expansion celebrate their victory, in Portland, Maine. The credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service says Maine voters' decision to expand Medicaid might make it more difficult for the state to keep its budget balanced. Voters decided they wanted Maine to expand Medicaid to some 70,000 citizens in a public referendum on Tuesday. (Robert F. Bukaty | AP)

PORTLAND, Maine — Justices on Maine’s high court heard arguments Wednesday in a procedural case about Medicaid expansion, but many questions turned to larger issues of whether the state must — or even could — fund it with no revenue dedicated by the Legislature.

Even though it was approved by Maine voters last year, Medicaid expansion has been slow-walked into the judicial branch after inaction by Gov. Paul LePage and the Maine Legislature, which wasn’t able to get a start-up funding plan past a governor’s veto last week.

The lawsuit from advocates against the LePage administration came after the Maine Department of Health and Human Services failed to meet an April 3 deadline to file a simple plan with the federal government to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act to an estimated 70,000 Mainers, beginning coverage July 2.

To read the rest of “Funding remains at heart of Medicaid expansion conflict as Maine high court hears case,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Michael Shepherd, please follow this link to the BDN online.