Kennebec Journal du lieu suivant : Augusta, Maine • B7

Kennebec Journal Wednesday, November 28, 2018 B7 LOCAL MAINE BY JOE LAWLOR Portland Press Herald Gov. Paul LePage is con- tinuing to fight Medicaid expansion in court, filing another motion to delay the case only five weeks before Janet Mills will take over, reverse course and implement the expan- sion. As a result, lat- est legal move may do lit- tle more than further delay access to health insurance for the 70,000 people who will be eligible for Medicaid coverage under the law ap- proved by voters in Novem- ber 2017. On Monday, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services request- ed a stay of a or- der that would compel the LePage administration to move ahead with Medicaid expansion. Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy ruled on Nov.

21 that Maine DHHS had to implement expan- sion by Dec. 5, a move that would make about 70,000 low-income Mainers eligi- ble for health insurance. Murphy ruled that the LePage administration had to follow the law approved by voters, but LePage has said the state will appeal the ruling. The stay request, filed Monday with the Business and Consumer Court, argued that imple- menting expansion would have negative and would a fiscal crisis by requiring the expenditure of funds needed to provide care for the even poorer population that currently re- ceives (Medicaid) Medicaid expansion will cost state taxpayers about $50 million to $60 million per year, but Maine will receive more than $500 million an- nually in federal funds to help pay for health care for newly eligible Medicaid enrollees. The Legislature approved $60 million in funding for Medicaid ex- pansion this summer, but LePage vetoed it, arguing that the funding package contained one-time Voters approved Medicaid expansion a key compo- nent of the Affordable Care Act 59 to 41 percent in the 2017 referendum, LePage has refused to implement it, arguing that funds were not available to do so.

The Re- publican governor has been a steadfast Medicaid expan- sion opponent, having ve- toed several expansion bills passed by the Legislature. Mills, a Democrat, has vowed to implement Medic- aid expansion day if it already been put in place when she assumes office in January. When LePage refused to implement expansion last spring, Maine Equal Jus- tice Partners, the advocacy group that lobbied for the 2017 referendum, filed suit, arguing that the governor did not have the authority to avoid implementing a vot- er-approved law. The courts have so far ruled in Maine Equal Justice fa- vor. In her Nov.

21 decision, retroactive to July 2, Mur- phy wrote that the governor may believe implementation to be un- wise and disagree with the (expansion law) as a matter of policy, he may not ignore the will of the people and refuse to take any action to- ward accomplishing the pol- icy objectives of the Attorneys for LePage ar- gued in the motion asking for a stay on Monday that the state could lose mil- lions in federal money if the stay is not granted. They said that because the fed- eral government has yet to approve the ex- pansion plan, Maine would be at risk of paying the full cost of expansion from July through December, instead of 10 percent of the cost as required by the Affordable Care Act. But MaryBeth Musume- ci, associate director of the Program of Medicaid and the Uninsured at the Kai- ser Family Foundation, a national health policy think tank, told the Press Her- ald that as long as an plan is filed in the same quarter that ex- pansion begins, the federal government would retroac- tively reimburse any costs to the state within the same quarter. The LePage administra- tion filed its plan with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in September, so as long as the routine paperwork is considered Maine would not lose any federal funds, Musumeci said.

Robyn Merrill, executive director of Maine Equal Justice, said that even though Mills will be taking over soon, the organiza- goal is to health care to people who need it as quickly as have a new adminis- tration coming in that be- lieves in and values Medic- aid expansion and is ready to make it Merrill said. still important to hold (the LePage) admin- istration accountable and comply with the decision issued by the court. That decision should become a court precedent and must be allowed to Mills spokesman Scott Ogden said in a statement that expansion is the law of the land, and regardless of what the cur- rent administration does between now and January, Governor-elect Mills will immediately take steps to implement it as soon as she assumes office, as the peo- ple of Maine have demand- Under the law, Mainers earning as much as 138 percent of the federal pov- erty level $16,753 for an individual and $34,638 for a family of four could begin applying for Medicaid cov- erage on July 2. Many did, only to receive letters of de- nial from DHHS. Joe Lawlor 791-6376 LePage seeks another delay to Medicaid BY ANDREW RICE Sun Journal AUBURN In a video commercial released Mon- day, Mayor Jason Levesque pitches Auburn as a desti- nation and a place to raise a family.

The mayor walks the downtown streets and nar- rates over images of kay- akers, a skier at Lost Valley and an Auburn classroom. At the conclusion, he throws in a tagline that he said was created by city staff before his term: come to Auburn, make yourself at The 30-second commer- cial is part of a larger mul- timedia advertising cam- paign being rolled out by the city ahead of its 150th anniversary celebration, which kicks off New Eve downtown. Levesque said the ad cam- paign, paid for by the 150th anniversary sponsors, will advertise both the anni- versary events and the city itself, which he said in the past has not been promoted effectively. need it. been talk- ed about for quite some he said Tuesday.

want people in New En- gland to know why so proud of Auburn. We have not historically pro- moted our assets like we In the first ad, which he said will be one of a handful broadcast through a part- nership with WGME, he calls Auburn destination for many, and a home for He said the TV spots will begin running soon, with another five-second ad run- ning during the same set of airtime specifically for the upcoming New Eve event. New Auburn, on Dec. 31, will take place out- doors on a section of Main Street between Court Street and Festival Plaza, and will feature local breweries, food trucks, live music and fire- works. The city is catering the event to adults: Those 21 and older will be allowed to drink alcohol on the street.

The cover band Hello Newman of Portland will be the headliner. Levesque said Tuesday that the city is expecting between 2,000 and 3,000 people, and is hoping to at- tract people from outside Auburn. also hoping events like New will per- suade some especially younger professionals to move to Auburn. He said as more munic- ipalities are focusing on promoting quality of life, with nightlife, dining and recreational opportunities, the city needs to let people know that types of opportunities are want to see young couples moving he said, especially as the cost of living in Greater Portland increases. At a recent City Council workshop, Maine state econ- omist Amanda Rector pre- sented demographic trends to elected officials, which Levesque said highlights some of the challenges mu- nicipalities face statewide.

The median age in Maine, at 44.7 years, makes Maine the oldest state in the U.S. But a bright spot in the numbers showed An- droscoggin County is the youngest in Maine, a trend that Levesque said he hopes will continue. Levesque said Tuesday that historically, Auburn ad- vertising has been lumped into regional efforts. He said he appreciates the campaigns from the Lew- iston-Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, in- cluding the current It campaign, but he said Auburn needs to pro- mote its own city with a unique set of is Auburn. I was elected mayor of Auburn, and I want to make sure Auburn is in the forefront of he said.

The city first posted the new ad to its social media accounts Monday, and it was widely shared. As of Tuesday, it has roughly 2,100 views on the Face- book account. Levesque said in just two days that makes it one of the top performing posts in the past few years. The City Council approved $25,000 in toward the anniversary celebration in this budget, which Levesque said went toward the 150th anniversary gear, including T-shirts, hats, downtown banners and other mer- chandise. But he said the anniversary committee, through knocking on doors and getting the word out, has paid for the rest through private sponsorships.

Those include Maple Way Dental Care, Great Falls Marketing and Emerson Toyota. Dr. Rose Sheline, co-own- er of Maple Way Dental Care in Lewiston, said Tuesday that the business formerly Center Street Dental established its roots and operated for 30 years in Auburn. occasion marks a special milestone in Au- history, and we are thrilled to show our sup- she said. also hopeful that 150th anniversary events happen- ing over the course of the next year will create a com- pelling case for people to come and visit our Twin Cit- ies and maybe even choose to live Maple Way also recently sponsored new holiday ban- ners in downtown Lewiston, spearheaded by the Down- town Lewiston Association.

The city contracted with Praxis Production Studios of Portland for the cam- paign, and subsequent ads will be released throughout the year. Some be di- rectly tied to the anniver- sary celebration, including one celebrating the of in Auburn. Levesque said the theme of the series is to highlight has made us great over the last 150 and to encourage people to be a part of the next AUBURN City rolls out 150th anniversary TV ad campaign Screenshot from video The city of Auburn on Monday released the first in a series of video advertisements leading up to its 150th anniversary celebration starting Dec. 31. Coastguardsman Colt Cot- ten, right, guides a vessel onto a trailer Monday at the boat landing on the Kenne- bec River in Augusta.

A crew from the Aids to Navigation unit in South Portland col- lected the last buoys in the river before it freezes for the winter. Staff photo by Andy Molloy YEAH, BUOY! PORTLAND (AP) It was a big year for deer in the Pine Tree State. hunters had their most productive season in more than 10 years, accord- ing to registration data, the Maine Department of In- land Fisheries and Wildlife said Tuesday. Preliminary numbers indicate hunters had taken 30,299 deer as of Monday, the agency said. The deer season for hunt- ers who use muzzleloaders is still going on, so hunters will likely top the 2004 total of nearly 31,000, but fall short of the 2002 total of more than 38,000, the agency said.

The state hiked the num- ber of deer permits it dis- tributed this year by 28 per- cent, to nearly 85,000. The deer herd showed strong survival over last winter, in part because of moderate weather, which allowed the state to distribute more of the hunting permits. The season actually start- ed off slow this year due to poor weather, but hunters eventually made up for it, said Nathan Bieber, the deer biologist. Maine deer hunt most productive in 10 years Supporting Community We Make It Easy Michelle Richardson Branch Manager I love working for Kennebec Savings Bank because of the sense of community. Our customers are my neighbors, and I see them at local shops, town gatherings, and sports fields.

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