WASHINGTON — The Trump administration issued guidance to states early Thursday that will allow them to compel people to work or prepare for jobs in order to receive Medicaid for the first time in the half-century history of this pillar of the nation’s social safety net. The letter to state Medicaid directors opens the door […]
welfare
Posted inMaine, sj-web
40,000 Mainers sign up for ACA plans
As the Friday deadline to sign up for Affordable Care Act insurance approaches, thousands of Mainers are enrolling in individual health plans even as the law is under threat by the Trump administration. A tax reform bill that repeals a key part of the law is moving quickly through Congress. As of Saturday, 40,608 Mainers had signed up […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage administration asks feds for MaineCare work requirements
AUGUSTA (AP) — Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s administration is officially asking the federal government to impose work and premium requirements on state Medicaid recipients. Low-income Mainers this spring told state regulators the changes would make it harder to access health care that would allow them to work. Maine Public reported (http://bit.ly/2vvfuU4 ) Maine Equal Justice […]
Posted inMaine
Democratic lawmakers try to soften welfare rules proposed by Paul LePage
AUGUSTA — Democrats in the House of Representatives supported bids to make social services easier to acquire for veterans, homeless people and elderly Mainers, but the bills are unlikely to be enacted with most Republicans and Gov. Paul LePage leaning hard against program expansions. In preliminary House votes, LD 689 and LD 1538 were supported 80-66 and 78-68, respectively. LD 689 would […]
Posted inLetters
A land of opportunity
There will always be people in any society who, through no fault of their own, cannot provide for themselves. There will always be those who fall on hard times and need some assistance getting back on their feet. That is a need that a civilized society must address. What a civilized society must not do […]
Posted inMaine
Paul LePage disputes that Maine has $150 million to spend on welfare
Gov. Paul LePage continued a familiar refrain on Tuesday when he said Democrats in the Legislature are on a mission to keep people in poverty and dependent on social service programs. LePage said during a wide-ranging interview on WVOM that Democratic House Speaker Sara Gideon’s bill to spend $150 million in federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program funding on a […]
Posted inMaine
Brothers indicted for alleged welfare fraud at halal market
If guilty, Ali Ratib Daham and Abdul Kareem Daham face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Two brothers from Westbrook, Maine, are facing federal charges for operating massive welfare fraud at a grocery market. Acting U.S. attorney Richard Murphy said Tuesday that 40-year-old Ali Ratib Daham and […]
Posted inMaine
Sen. Libby’s bill would give citizens oversight of welfare programs
AUGUSTA (AP) — Citizens would monitor the success and progress of the state-run welfare-to-work program under a democratic lawmaker’s bill. Assistant Senate Democratic Leader Nathan Libby is sponsoring a bill that would create an independent citizens oversight committee. The committee would require the state Department of Health and Human Services to collect data about topics […]
Posted inNation / World
Feds support states that want work requirements for Medicaid
WASHINGTON — A simple question — should adults who are able to work be required to do so to get taxpayer-provided health insurance? — could lead to major changes in the social safety net. The federal-state Medicaid program for low-income and disabled people covers more than 70 million U.S. residents — about 1 in 5 […]
Posted inMaine
LePage administration says welfare recipients skipping drug tests
AUGUSTA — GOP Gov. Paul LePage’s administration says welfare recipients aren’t showing up for drug tests and that reform is needed. The state requires drug tests for welfare recipients with prior drug convictions who score high on a substance-use disorder screening tool. The state Department of Health and Human Services told The Associated Press that […]