Thanks to the strong voices of MAIN members, community organizations, religious leaders and hundreds of caring Maine people, many of the most extreme initiatives in Governor LePage’s proposed budget were defeated. These initiatives would have put the health and well-being of thousands at risk.
The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee deserves much credit. In the end, budget negotiators were able to protect health care for nearly 30,000 people, and ensure that 44,000 seniors and people with disabilities have continued access to prescription drugs. In addition, the final budget protects thousands of Maine families who are struggling to meet their basic needs in a difficult economy.
This is not to say that the budget that passed will cause no harm. It will. The safety net has been weakened for many families. We will all have to work hard in the months ahead to make sure that these people are not forgotten and that they don’t fall through the cracks.
Here is a summary of how the original budget proposals affecting public benefits turned out in the end.
MaineCare
The Legislature REJECTED all of the following cuts to MaineCare. This means that they will not go into effect:
- Rejected: Cut MaineCare for parents with income between 134-200% of the federal poverty level (FPL).
- Rejected: Cut MaineCare for adults without children (known in the Program as non-categoricals) living under the federal poverty level.
- Rejected: Double the time period that DHHS has to determine MaineCare eligibility for people with disabilities from 45 to 90 days.
- Rejected: Eliminate or greatly reduce assistance with:
- Medicare Part B premiums and other costs;
- Part D premiums;
- some co-payments and deductibles; and
- coverage through the “donut hole” for seniors and people with disabilities with income between 134-185% of the
federal poverty level. (This help is provided through the Medicare Savings, or “buy-in” Program).
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
The Legislature modified the proposed cuts to TANF:
Original Proposal: Impose strict lifetime 5-year time limit in the TANF Program with no exceptions.
Proposal Adopted by the Legislature: Beginning January 1, 2012, there will be a 5-year time limit in the TANF program. This time limit will include the time families received TANF before January 1, 2012, as well as time going forward. Fortunately, however, there will be some exceptions. The following groups will still be able to receive assistance after 5 years:
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households in which an adult or family member has an illness or impairment that limits ability to work;
- domestic violence survivors;
- people enrolled in an education or training program;
- certain caretaker relatives who are not the parent of the child and are needed at home to care for the child; and
- those facing other hardships that will be determined by DHHS.
In the next few months DHHS will write rules to spell out all groups who may continue to receive assistance after 5 years.
MEJP’s Fact Sheet explains the impact of time limits on
TANF families. (large .pdf file; may be slow to download)
Original Proposal: Impose sanctions on the entire family, including children, if a parent does not fully comply with program rules. Currently only the parent is sanctioned. The children continue to receive assistance.
Proposal Adopted by the Legislature: Beginning January 1, 2012, a new sanction process will be put in place. For the first sanction, only the adult will lose benefits. If they do not comply within 90 days or if they have any additional sanctions the whole family will lose benefits, unless they have good cause. They may receive benefits again, once they comply. Parents who were sanctioned before January 1, 2012 will be given a chance to comply with program rules. If they do, the whole family will begin to receive assistance again.
MEJP’s Fact Sheet explains the impact of sanctions on
TANF families. (large .pdf file; may be slow to download)
Original Proposal: Requires any parent convicted of a drug-related felony to show proof of ongoing drug testing in order to receive TANF for their family. A positive test result would cause the family to lose benefits immediately.
Proposal Adopted by the Legislature: DHHS can require any parent that has been convicted of a drug-related felony in the past 20 years to have a drug test. Individuals who do not believe a test result is accurate can have a second “confirmatory” test. They can appeal any decision. If a parent tests positive for illegal drug use, DHHS can require them to enroll in drug treatment if it is available.
Original Proposal: Alternative Aid would only be available once in a lifetime.
Proposal Adopted by the Legislature: The Legislature REJECTED the cut to the Alternative Aid program. There will be no changes in this program. Eligible families will be able to receive Alternative Aid once a year as they can now.
General Assistance (GA)
The Legislature REJECTED all of the proposed cuts to the General Assistance program. This means that the following
cuts will not go into effect:
- Rejected: Individuals who are eligible for other federal cash programs
would become ineligible for General Assistance (GA).
- Rejected: General Assistance would only be available once a year.
- Rejected: Increases the number of days that an individual is ineligible for GA benefits from 120 days to 180 days in cases of false representation or for not complying with work requirements.
- Rejected: Disqualifies GA applicants who voluntarily abandon a resource (like a housing voucher or another public benefit) without cause from receiving assistance for 120 days.
- Rejected: Disqualifies GA applicants who lose benefits from another public assistance program because of fraud for the length of the disqualification in that other program or 180 days, whichever is longer. Under current law the disqualification lasts for the length of the disqualification from the other program only.
- Rejected: Reduces the reimbursement level to municipalities providing the most GA in the State from 90% to 75% of the amount in excess of .0003 of the municipality’s most recent state valuation.
Cuts to Programs that Assist Legal Immigrants
Original Proposal: Eliminate state-funded public assistance for MaineCare, TANF, Food Supplement benefits
and SSI for legal immigrants who do not qualify for federal assistance through these programs. This would include
immigrants who are here lawfully but do not qualify for federal assistance either because they have been lawful
permanent residents for less than 5 years or because they are awaiting a determination of citizenship status
(e.g. – asylum seekers with pending applications). In addition, certain refugees would have been left without
SSI benefits after seven years from the time they obtained refugee status. This is the time at which the federal
government stops covering SSI benefits for refugees. Please note that most refugees, asylees and other groups that
qualify for federally-funded benefits will not be impacted by the budget cuts for legal immigrants.
Learn more about who will be impacted by these cuts.
If you have any questions about who will be impacted by these cuts please contact Robyn Merrill by e-mail:
rmerrill AT mejp DOT org or call: (866)626-7059, ext. 207.
The Legislature accepted some, but not the entire proposal. This is the final law:
- TANF, SSI and Food Supplement for Legal Immigrants
Current Recipients: Legal immigrants who are currently receiving TANF, SSI and Food Supplement benefits through a state-funded program will continue to get assistance as long as they are eligible. In other words, these people will be “grandfathered” and will continue to receive these benefits.
New Applicants: New applicants will only be eligible for these programs if they are: (1) elderly and/or disabled; (2) domestic violence survivors; or (3) fit into some other hardship category such as waiting for a work permit. DHHS will spell out what counts as a hardship in rules for the program. Elderly and/or disabled legal immigrants will continue to qualify for SSI. All children will also continue to qualify for Food Supplement benefits.
- MaineCare for Legal Immigrants
Legal immigrants will no longer be able to get MaineCare through a state-funded program. This will impact immigrants who are here lawfully but do not qualify for federal assistance either because they have been lawful permanent residents for less than 5 years or because they are awaiting a determination of citizenship status. These individuals will be cut off the program. These changes go into effect on July 1, 2011.
This cut does not apply to children under 21 and pregnant women up to 60 days following delivery. They will continue to be eligible for MaineCare.
For more information contact Maine Equal Justice Partners. Look for updates on these programs in future email alerts and issues of the MAIN Update.
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Maine Equal Justice Partners
June 2011
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