- Aug 21, 2003
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On Tuesday, Maine became the first state to expand Medicaid with a ballot initiative. And it passed overwhelmingly: Maine voters agreed to grant health care to an estimated 70,000 low-income residents by a nearly 20-percentage point margin by the time the measure was called by election watchers. In other words, a sizable number of voters in Maine just voted to do the exact opposite of what the state's Republican governor and Republicans in Washington have been trying to do.
Maine Gov. Paul LePage vetoed a bipartisan legislative deal to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act at least five times. Since Republicans took control of Washington in January, they've spent more than half the year trying to repeal Obamacare with proposals that would have drastically cut Medicaid. But Maine's Sen. Susan Collins (R) was one of the defining “no” votes that ultimately ended the GOP efforts, saying the plans would pull the rug out from too many in her state.
What happened in Maine could provide momentum for progressives to get voters in other states to expand Medicaid, such as Alaska and Idaho, where groups have already started similar Medicaid expansion ballot initiatives next year.
http://wapo.st/2iDh9z4?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.a1de2a6ade0d
Thought this outcome was interesting. I guess Collins will be a no on repeal-replace permanently now. The margin on this is interesting and is going to tempt people in other states that haven't expanded to get it on the ballot next year. Alaska, Idaho, Utah, etc all have that potential.
Trump's argument that the voters won't punish the GOP or him at the polls if they make healthcare shitty is looking slightly less than certain.