An Act To Enhance Access to Affordable Health Care | |
| Source: Maine Secretary of State [1] |
| Elections in Maine |
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Maine Question 2, formally entitled "An Act To Enhance Access to Affordable Health Care", was a citizen-initiated ballot measure that appeared on the November 7, 2017 statewide ballot in the State of Maine. Maine Question 2 sought to expand Medicaid eligibility under the terms of the Affordable Care Act. The measure passed.
Expanded eligibility for the Medicaid program, called MaineCare in Maine, was a provision of the Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. [2] The expansion was originally required of states as a condition of all federal Medicaid funding, but the United States Supreme Court ruled in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius that such expansion was optional for states. [3]
Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage criticized the eligibility requirements for MaineCare, feeling that it was too easy to qualify for as it existed when he took office in 2010. [4] He was a staunch opponent of the Affordable Care Act, believing that it violated the Constitution and took freedoms from citizens. [5] LePage vetoed six efforts to expand MaineCare eligibility. [6] On one occasion, LePage described efforts by the Maine Legislature to write an expansion bill that would garner bipartisan support as having "no compassion". [7]
Supporters of expansion, led by Maine Equal Justice Partners, announced on October 12, 2016 that they intended to launch a petition drive to put the issue to the voters. LePage's spokesperson criticized the effort as "another attempt by liberals to pass welfare expansion". [8]
Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap announced on February 21, 2017 that supporters of the measure had submitted over 66,000 verified signatures, far above the 61,123 required to place a measure on the ballot. [6]
The question that appeared on petition forms was: "Do you want Maine to provide health insurance through Medicaid for qualified adults under the age of 65 with incomes at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty line?" During the comment period before the question's wording was finalized, several Republican legislators disputed the inclusion of the word "insurance" in the question, arguing that MaineCare benefits are not insurance, but welfare benefits. Those legislators opined that the question did not meet the Maine Constitution's requirement that referendum questions be "simple, clear, concise, and direct". They further noted that the word "insurance" did not appear in the proposed referendum itself. Supporters defended the use of the word "insurance" on the grounds that MaineCare does not provide cash to recipients, but directly pays providers of medical services. [9] At the end of the comment period, Secretary Dunlap announced that the final wording of the question would replace the word "insurance" with "coverage". Representatives of both sides of the issue announced their support of the decision. [10]
The ballot question read as follows: "Do you want Maine to expand Medicaid to provide healthcare coverage for qualified adults under age 65 with incomes at or below 138% of the federal poverty level, which in 2017 means $16,643 for a single person and $22,412 for a family of two?" [11]
On November 7, 2017, Maine Question 2 passed, 203,080 to 141,436. [20]
Gov. LePage stated that he would not implement the Medicaid expansion required by Maine Question 2 unless the Legislature funded it without a tax increase and without using money from the state Rainy Day Fund. Medicaid expansion became an issue in the 2018 elections. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Janet Mills stated she would implement the law, and Republican Shawn Moody stated he would continue LePage's refusal to do so. [21] [22]
Supporters of expansion sued the LePage administration on April 30, 2018 to force the expansion to be implemented. On June 4, 2018, Judge Michaela Murphy ruled that Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Ricker Hamilton must submit a plan for expansion by June 11 to allow MaineCare to start accepting newly eligible applicants on July 2, 2018. [23] LePage said that he would rather go to jail than implement the expansion without a funding mechanism that met his criteria. [24]
LePage's successor, Democrat Janet Mills, signed an order implementing the referendum as one of her first acts, enabling signups to begin immediately. [22]
In the United States, Medicaid is a government program that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by state governments, which also have wide latitude in determining eligibility and benefits, but the federal government sets baseline standards for state Medicaid programs and provides a significant portion of their funding.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Maine since December 29, 2012. A bill for the legalization of same-sex marriages was approved by voters, 53–47 percent, on November 6, 2012, as Maine, Maryland and Washington became the first U.S. states to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote. Election results were certified by the Maine Secretary of State's office and the Governor of Maine, Paul LePage, on November 29.
Paul Richard LePage is an American politician who served as the 74th governor of Maine from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the mayor of Waterville, Maine, from 2004 to 2011 and as a city councilor for Waterville from 1998 to 2002.
Bruce Lee Poliquin is an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Maine's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. Poliquin was first elected to Congress in the 2014 general election. From 2010 to 2012, he was the 49th Maine State Treasurer. He was a candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2012, finishing second in the primary election. In January 2017, at the start of the 115th Congress, Poliquin was the sole Republican representing a U.S. House district in New England.
Maine Question 1 was a voter referendum on an initiated state statute that occurred on November 6, 2012. The referendum was held to determine whether or not to legalize same-sex marriage. The referendum passed with a 53-47% vote legalizing same-sex marriage in Maine.
Maine Question 1 (MQ1), "An Act To Prohibit the Use of Dogs, Bait or Traps When Hunting Bears Except under Certain Circumstances", was a citizen-initiated referendum measure in Maine, which was voted on in the general election of November 4, 2014. As the Maine Legislature declined to act on the proposed statute, it was automatically placed on the ballot. The proposal was defeated by 320,873 "No" votes to 279,617 "Yes".
The 2018 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018 to elect the governor of Maine. It occurred along with elections for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Paul LePage was term limited and could not seek re-election to a third consecutive term; he later unsuccessfully sought a third term in 2022.
Maine Question 1, "An Act To Strengthen the Maine Clean Election Act, Improve Disclosure and Make Other Changes to the Campaign Finance Laws", was a citizen-initiated referendum measure in Maine, which appeared on the November 3, 2015 statewide ballot. As the Maine Legislature did not exercise its ability to pass the bill on its own, it was placed on the ballot and approved by Maine voters.
Maine Question 1 was a people's veto referendum that appeared on the June 12, 2018 statewide ballot. It sought to reject a law passed by the Maine Legislature that suspended the implementation of ranked choice voting, authorized by Maine voters in a previous referendum, for use in Maine elections until and if an amendment to the Maine Constitution is passed to expressly permit it; failing that, the law would be automatically repealed in 2021. It qualified because supporters of the original referendum collected the necessary number of signatures from registered Maine voters. This vote coincided with primary elections in which party nominees for governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and the Maine Legislature were chosen through RCV to run in general elections on November 6.
Maine Question 5, formally An Act to Establish Ranked-Choice Voting, is a citizen-initiated referendum question that qualified for the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It was approved by a vote of 52% in favor, 48% opposed. It sought to change how most Maine elections will be conducted from a plurality voting system to a ranked-choice voting system. It appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two U.S. House seats, the legislature, five other ballot questions, and various local elections. The referendum was successful, making Maine the first state to use ranked choice voting for its federal elections.
Maine Question 1, "Do you want to reject the section of Chapter 399 of the Public Laws of 2011 that requires new voters to register to vote at least two business days prior to an election?", was a 2011 people's veto referendum that rejected a bill repealing Election Day voter registration in Maine. The vote was held on November 8, 2011 after being placed on the ballot due to supporters collecting the necessary number of signatures. The veto effort was successful, with 237,024 votes in favor of repeal to 155,156 against repeal.
Maine Question 4, formally An Act to Raise the Minimum Wage, is a citizen-initiated referendum question that appeared on the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It sought to increase Maine's minimum wage from $7.50 per hour to $12 an hour by 2020, as well as increasing the minimum wage for tipped employees gradually to the same level by 2024. It would also index increases after 2024 to inflation. As the Maine Legislature and Governor Paul LePage declined to enact the proposal as written, it appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two U.S. House seats, the Legislature, other statewide ballot questions, and various local elections. Efforts to place a competing, more moderate proposal alongside the citizen-initiated bill were unsuccessful.
Maine Question 3, formally An Act to Require Background Checks for Gun Sales, was a citizen-initiated referendum question that appeared on the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It sought to require a background check for virtually all gun transfers in Maine, with some exceptions. As the Maine Legislature and Governor Paul LePage declined to enact the proposal as written, it appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two United States House seats, the Maine Legislature, other statewide ballot questions, and various local elections.
In the context of American public healthcare policy, the Medicaid coverage gap refers to uninsured people who do not qualify for marketplace assistance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and reside in states that have not adopted Medicaid expansion under the ACA. People within this categorization have incomes above the eligibility limits for Medicaid set by their state of residence but fall below the federal poverty line (FPL), resulting in deficient access to affordable health insurance. As of March 2023, an estimated 1.9 million Americans in 10 states are within the Medicaid coverage gap according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Approximately 97 percent of this cohort lives in the Southern U.S., with a majority living in Texas and Florida; Texas has the largest population of people in the cohort, accounting for 41 percent of people in the coverage gap.
Maine Question 2, formally An Act to Establish The Fund to Advance Public Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education, was a citizen-initiated referendum question that appeared on the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It sought to increase state aid to public schools by instituting a surcharge of 3% on Maine income taxes for those with income above $200,000 a year. As the Maine Legislature declined to enact the proposal as written, it appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two U.S. House seats, the Legislature, and various local elections.
Maine Question 1, formally An Act to Legalize Marijuana, is a citizen-initiated referendum question that qualified for the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It was qualified for the ballot after a Maine Superior Court judge ordered that petitions rejected by the Maine Secretary of State be reconsidered. The proposal sought to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Maine for those over the age of 21, and institute a 10 percent tax on its sale. As the Maine Legislature and Governor Paul LePage declined to enact the proposal as written, it appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two U.S. House seats, the Legislature, other statewide ballot questions, and various local elections.
Maine Question 1, formally An Act To Allow Slot Machines or a Casino in York County, was a citizen-initiated referendum question that appeared on the November 7, 2017, statewide ballot in Maine. It sought to award a license for the construction and operation of a casino in York County, Maine by a qualified entity as spelled out in the proposed law, with tax revenue generated by the casino to go to specific programs. The wording of the proposed law effectively permitted only one company, Capital 7, to be awarded the license. The ballot measure was defeated, with 83% of voters opposing it.
Maine Question 1 is a citizen-initiated referendum that appeared on the November 6, 2018 statewide ballot. It sought to implement a tax on higher incomes in Maine to fund in-home health care services for elderly and disabled Mainers, as well as to create a government board to administer the funds. The vote coincided with general elections for governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, the Maine Legislature, and other local elections. It qualified for the ballot due to supporters collecting signatures from registered Maine voters. It was defeated 62.86% to 37.14%.
2020 Maine Question 1 was a people's veto referendum that sought to reject a new law which eliminated religious and philosophical exemptions from school vaccination requirements and for employees of nursery schools and health care facilities. The question appeared on the March 3, 2020 statewide ballot.
2020 Missouri Amendment 2, also known as the Medicaid Expansion Initiative, was a ballot measure to amend the Constitution of Missouri to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The initiative was on the August 4, 2020, primary ballot and passed with 53.27% of the vote. Following previous successful Medicaid expansion initiatives in other states, Republican lawmakers in Nebraska and Utah added work requirements to their states' Medicaid expansions, which supporters aimed to prevent by proposing state constitutional amendments for future Medicaid expansion initiatives. Opponents sued to prevent the initiative from being voted on, but courts ruled in the measure's favor. The measure was supported most in urban areas and opposed in rural areas. After a delay due to a lack of funding from the Missouri General Assembly and resulting litigation, the initiative was implemented in October 2021, albeit slowly. Republican lawmakers attempted to roll back the program and add a work requirement through a state constitutional amendment, which failed after the United States Supreme Court effectively prevented the implementation of one.