AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine Gov. Paul LePage says massive Medicaid spending is crowding out funding for education and natural resource protection as he continues to push back against expanding the program under the Affordable Care Act.
LePage said in a statement that Maine’s expansion of Medicaid a decade ago means that “Medicaid is now cannibalizing funding for all other state agencies.” For example, his administration says money for things like oil spill response has been taken from Department of Environmental Protection budget to fill budget holes caused in part by increased Medicaid spending.
But Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves of North Berwick says in a statement that “LePage’s unpaid for tax cuts for the wealthy that have cannibalized our budget and hurt our economy.”
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