Responsible Public Policy Requires
Understanding the Program
AUGUSTA Maine Equal Justice Partners today released a
new report analyzing MaineCare’s Childless
Adult Waiver program, which provides health insurance for low-income adults in the state.
“The public debate around MaineCare has been driven by political rhetoric and anecdote,”
said Sara Gagne-Holmes, executive director of Maine Equal Justice Partners. “As the
Legislature considers Gov. LePage’s proposal to eliminate health insurance for low-income
adults, we think it’s critical that lawmakers have an accurate understanding of who is
served by the Childless Adult Waiver.”
Prepared in conjunction with Professor Sandra Butler, Ph.D., at the University of
Maine School of Social Work, and Dr. Laurel Coleman, the report,
“Preserving MaineCare Coverage for Low-Income
Adults: Smart Policy - Common Sense,” includes qualitative analysis of the program,
interviews with people who receive health insurance coverage through the program and a
review of both national and state research about the importance of coverage for low-income
adults.
Despite rhetoric to the contrary, the report finds that Maine is not an “outlier”
among states for providing health insurance coverage for low-income childless adults. Instead
Maine is one of 20 states offering some form of coverage. Beginning in 2014, all states will be
required to provide Medicaid coverage to this group under the Affordable Care Act.
In addition, the majority of the people served by this program are not “young” or
“able-bodied.” Forty-three percent of those covered are older than 45. In addition,
research demonstrates that they often have serious medical conditions that affect
their activities and ability to function.
Of members receiving services:
- 47 percent fall into a major diagnostic grouping of disease or cancer;
- 24 percent have a diagnosis categorized as a mental disorder;
- 11 percent were treated for injury or poisoning.
“As the research demonstrates, many of the people who receive care through this
program suffer from serious and chronic conditions that require medical attention,”
said Dr. Coleman, a geriatric physician who lives in Manchester. She is also an attending
physician at the Geriatric Assessment Clinic at Maine Medical Center. “Without MaineCare,
these patients will be less likely to receive appropriate and timely care, making their
conditions much worse.”
Dr. Coleman reviewed the medical conditions of a sampling of MaineCare patients.
“Eliminating health insurance for this population won’t make their health care needs
go away. Instead, it will make it much more difficult for many people to regain their
health, maintain employment or return to the workforce,” Dr. Coleman said. “Policy
makers face many hard decisions, but before they decide to eliminate this program they
should understand the implications.”
In addition to the personal consequences of eliminating the program, the savings
attributed to the cut are a mirage.
“Eliminating health care coverage won’t make these individuals healthy,” said
Gagne-Holmes. “It instead shifts the costs to communities, hospitals and people with
private insurance. Additionally, it will result in the loss of about $37 million in
federal funding, which helps to defray the cost of care. If the program disappears,
the full cost will be carried by Maine.”
As the research shows, the childless adults covered by MaineCare are among the
poorest people in the state. To qualify for help, they must have income at or below
100 percent of the poverty line. They also tend to have serious medical conditions
that limit their ability to function without care.
“The proposal to eliminate coverage for childless adults is irresponsible and
dangerous, and unnecessarily puts at risk thousands of people,” Gagne-Holmes said.
Maine Equal Justice Partners is a nonprofit legal aid organization that works to
find solutions to poverty. It is the leading organization in Maine for independent
research and analysis of Maine’s safety net programs, and a trusted source for
nonpartisan information on TANF, MaineCare, General Assistance and other aid programs.
Updated January 2012
