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MAIN
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A Joint Project of the Maine
Association of Interdependent Neighborhoods |
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Volume 8 No. 2 |
June 2004 |
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MAIN
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A Joint Project of the Maine
Association of Interdependent Neighborhoods |
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Volume 8 No. 2 |
June 2004 |
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CubCare Premiums to Increase:
But Less Than Proposed
Cuts in the 2004 state budget were about to cause a major increase in premiums in MaineCare for CubCare
children beginning in July or August of 2004. The good news is, this major increase was blocked. The bad
news is, there will still be an increase, although not quite as harmful to families as those originally proposed.
The MaineCare program for children in families with income above 150% of the poverty level was
once called CubCare. Currently, MaineCare charges these families a sliding-scale premium that, depending
on income, ranges between $5 and $20 per month per child. No family has to pay for more than two children,
even if there are more children in the family. This effectively caps the maximum premium at $40.
These premiums were scheduled to increase substantially; but we are pleased to say that with hard work from
MAIN, MEJP, and most especially Representatives Sean Faircloth (D. Bangor) and Ben Dudley (D. Portland),
the worst aspects of the increase were blocked. The way DHS had proposed it, the scheduled premium
increase was going to impact the lowest income families the worst. It would also have been particularly
burdensome for larger families. This change was blocked.
Unfortunately, because of the budget cuts, premium increases will still occur; but lower income families and
larger families will not bear the full brunt. The premiums that now range between $5 and $40 per family,
will soon range from about $8 to about $68 per family, depending on income.
