Budget Proposal Will Hurt Some of Maine’s Most Vulnerable

Press Release from Maine Equal Justice Partners:

AUGUSTA – As more details of Governor Paul LePage’s proposed two-year budget were presented today, it is clear that his plans would put thousands of Maine families at risk.

Governor LePage has proposed changes in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and for MaineCare that would jeopardize health care insurance to thousands of Mainers who have it today while also threatening the well-being of thousands of children.

“It appears that stereotypes and anecdotes have driven many of the governor’s proposals,” said Sara Gagne-Holmes, the executive director of Maine Equal Justice Partners. “More than anything else, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is about helping children. More than 25,000 children are served by the program, which helps to provide them a safe place to live and other basic necessities of life.”

According to a year-long research project conducted by Maine Equal Justice Partners and the Maine Women’s Lobby in cooperation with the University of Maine and the University of New England, the typical TANF family is headed by a single mom, with two young children. The median time families spend on TANF is 18 months. Of those who receive assistance for five years or more, 90 percent include a disabled family member.

“In his budget address on Thursday, Governor LePage said he would defend older Mainers, those suffering with disability and those fighting mental illness with every ounce of his being,” Gagne-Holmes said. “Our research shows that, along with children, those are the people who are protected by assistance programs such as TANF, MaineCare and Drugs for the Elderly.”

In addition to changes in the TANF program, Governor LePage has also proposed jeopardizing coverage for nearly 14,000 working parents who currently receive health insurance through MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program.  The proposed budget also makes dramatic cuts to the Drugs for the Elderly program, which will significantly increase costs of health care and medicines for thousands of low-income seniors.

“The impact of Governor LePage’s proposals will hurt some of the most vulnerable people in Maine, and especially poor children, and the elderly.”