To the editor:
This year in Maine, an estimated 9,270 people will be diagnosed with cancer and another 3,320 will die of the disease. People without health coverage are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer at its later stages, when patients are less likely to survive and treatments are more costly.
Soon, our Legislature will be voting on LD 633, a bill that if passed will increase access to health care for nearly 70,000 underinsured Mainers. By accepting federal dollars already allocated for the state to increase access to health coverage through MaineCare, Maine’s Medicaid program, the Maine Legislature can significantly reduce the number of low-income families who lack access to affordable health care.
Maine’s lawmakers need to reach a decision on whether to accept federal dollars to increase access to Medicaid coverage. Further delays could result in the state losing significant funding that could improve the health of its most vulnerable communities and reduce health care costs. By giving more people regular access to a doctor, we can avoid spending millions of dollars currently used to treat uninsured people in emergency rooms.
It does not make sense to turn down money that is already available to help Mainers. Hard-working, low-income families need the security of quality health coverage to get lifesaving care when they need it.
As someone who works on the front end with cancer patients in The County through Pink Aroostook, and sees the great financial impact of cancer treatments on a state level through my work with the Maine Breast Cancer Coalition, I have seen first-hand the devastating financial burden that a cancer diagnosis can impart. As one of the lowest income counties in the entire state, it is imperative that all residents have access to affordable healthcare.
Although the Affordable Care Act has certainly made health care options more accessible, affordability still feels a long way off in a county where more than 20 percent live below the poverty line and more than 75 percent live paycheck to paycheck. Most of us are just one serious diagnosis away from financial ruin.
I hope that when the vote on LD 633 comes up, our legislators in Augusta will give voice to our county by voting to expand Medicare.
