Medicaid Expansion in Maine Shows Support for Affordable Access to Health Care, Rejection of Trump, LePage Efforts to Sabotage ACA
Washington, D.C. — In the first popular vote in any state to expand Medicaid, the voters of Maine overwhelmingly supported expansion of Medicaid tonight — a key component of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Despite Republican Governor Paul LePage’s objections and vetoes, and the Republican Congress’s attempts to repeal and sabotage the ACA, voters spoke loud and clear — approving the measure by a vote of 59% to 40% and ensuring 80,000 Mainers get access to affordable health coverage.
“Tonight was the first voter referendum on a part of the Affordable Care Act — and voters voted in favor it, overwhelmingly,” said Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse. “Not only would extending Medicaid provide coverage for 80,000 more Mainers, it would create 3,000 jobs in the health care industry across the state. Republicans from President Trump to Governor LePage to Congressman Poliquin have repeatedly tried to take health care away from people and increase costs with a scheme of repeal and sabotage. Tonight, the voters of Maine fought back. This measure’s results are a clear signal that voters oppose health care repeal and want to keep and strengthen the Affordable Care Act. If that message doesn’t get through, expect voters to continue to express themselves just as they did tonight.”
The strong show of support for Medicaid expansion in Maine is also in stark contrast to new controversial sabotage announced by the Trump Administration today, which places new hurdles to Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands of Americans, including dropping a requirement that such changes “increase and strengthen” health coverage. In its announcement, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Seema Verma said the goal of Medicaid covering more people is a “hollow victory of numbers.” Tonight, the people of Maine vehemently disagreed.