MSEA-SEIU's President Bruce Hodson places Letter to the Editor

Bruce Hodson, MSEA-SEIU's president had a Letter to the Editor published in Thursday's (3/27) Kennebec Journal. Click on the link below to read it. http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/view/letters/4908052.html

Parties split over budget recommendations

Late last week the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee wrapped up their work on a supplemental budget proposal to fill the current budget hole of nearly $200 million. Despite an effort to craft a bipartisan plan, Republicans and Democrats will present separate budget proposals to the full Legislature. Republicans and Democrats agreed to many of the measures presented by the Governor to cover the $190 million budget shortfall in the state’s $6.3 billion biennial budget. These measures include savings from reorganization within the Department of Health and Human Services, cuts to MaineCare services provided to childless adults and a reduction in state aid to local schools. The two parties also agreed to partially restore the Governor’s cuts to higher education, foster parent reimbursements, as well as domestic violence and sexual assault services. The majority Democrat plan includes the sweeping of multiple state accounts and the elimination of the Legislature’s Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA). Their plan also includes a move to allow the state treasurer to accelerate the sale of stocks that are being held by the state as unclaimed property, which would bring in approximately $9 million. Republicans rejected the idea as a risky one-time scheme along the lines of the failed unused gift card recapture from last year’s budget, a move that contributed to the current shortfall. The Republicans on the committee presented their own plan that called for legislators and legislative employees to contribute 10 percent to their own health insurance premiums, which are currently fully covered by the state. Their plan would also have accepted the Governor’s proposal to limit Medicaid spending on non-disabled, childless adults and mandate three unpaid government holidays. They also proposed a 10 percent reduction for payments to candidates who apply to run as publicly-funded candidates during the 2008 election cycle. Both committee reports are expected to be presented to the full Legislature this week. email from Representative Cotta 3/26/08

Democrat Budget Plan would Eliminate OPEGA

Democrats on the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee included a controversial measure in their majority budget plan to close the Legislature’s Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA). The maneuver will book nearly $1.2 million in savings in the current biennium. Republicans on the committee issued a separate budget document that does not include the OPEGA cut. OPEGA is a nonpartisan office that conducts reviews and audits of programs and agencies within state government that use public funds. The agency is overseen by a committee that is comprised of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. OPEGA has issued nearly a dozen reports and is currently undertaking a review of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services. OPEGA uncovered $167,806 of misused funds and possible fraud during one of its reviews. The case is now pending in front of the Attorney General’s office. Another report reviewed the state’s economic development programs which cost taxpayers over $200 million. Their report showed that these programs lack oversight and are oftentimes duplicative. They estimate that their reports have suggested over $2.1 million in annual savings. email from Representative Cotta 3/26/08

LD1687 Voted Down in IFS

Today in the working session of the Insurance and Financial Services Committee of the Maine State Legislature, LD1687 was voted down. Many committee members voiced their concern for direct care workers having no health insurance, direct line care givers having no care for themselves. Without funding for Dirigo, they could not support LD1687. It does seem odd that with LD2247 levying a 50-cent per pack tax hike on cigarettes and a 1.8 percent surcharge on hospital bills that the funding for LD1687 wouldn't be there if LD2247 passes. Perhaps these tax increases are to support Dirigo at the current level and not increase it to let another group in. Although LD1687 got shot down today, there is a ray of hope and a chance to work on this again with the next Legislature. IFS Co-Chair Senator Nancy Sullivan asked that the Superintendent of Insurance look into the rules pertaining to groups of workers buying a group policy, pooling direct care workers or the agencies they work for together to buy group insurance. This is something I've been asking about for some time now. Maybe I've finally found the right door to knock on! It was good to hear something positive about pooling workers together. I usually got the response of direct care workers are a high risk to insure; our work classification keeps us from doing this, ie we are per diem workers; we're too old; wages are more important than health care coverage; something about community rating (I'm still not sure on that one); all this is what I've heard as to why direct care workers can't pool together to buy group health insurance. So, even though LD1687 is dead, the issues it raises are not. LD1687, or something like it, will be back next session. Who knows? We may be successful the next time around. We'll have a new Legislature to work with. There's always room for hope!

New Dirigo Bill Proposes Cigarette Tax Increase

The Legislature’s Insurance and Financial Services Committee held a public hearing on a new bill that hopes to change the way the controversial DirigoChoice health insurance program is funded. The bill, LD2247, carries the innocuous title, “An Act to Continue Maine’s Leadership in Covering the Uninsured.” The legislation proposes repealing the contentious savings offset payment, or SOP tax on insurance premiums and instead, raise revenues for the program by increasing the cigarette tax by 50-cents per pack and levying a 1.8 percent surcharge on every hospital bill. The DirigoChoice health insurance program currently covers about 14,000 Maine residents, far short of its originally stated goals. The SOP tax has been the target of lawsuits by the business community and opponents have argued since its inception that taxing those with health insurance only adds to the overall costs of policies in Maine. Legislative Republicans and Governor Baldacci have voiced their concerns over the bill because of the tax increases it contains.

Dirigo Health Care Funding . . . LD 2247 & LD1687

This is an article published in the Kennebec Journal on Friday, March 14th. http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/4866109.html It is about Dirigo Health Care and the ways to fund it. If this LD2247 passes, maybe it will open the door for LD1687, the bill to change Dirigo to let agencies employing more than 50 direct care workers gain health insurance. LD1687 also allows direct care workers without health care coverage who work an average of 10 hours or more per week to participate in the DirigoChoice health insurance plan. LD1687 will allow multiple long-term care employers to contribute monthly premium assistance to their direct care employees that are eligible to enroll in Dirigo as an individual. Currently, LD1687 seems to be dead, because of the budget problems. The Direct Care Worker Coalition is meeting again on Monday, March 17th, to draw up a strategy as to their next move on LD1687. There is a work session in the Insurance and Financial Services Committee pertaining to LD1687 and LD2247 on Tuesday, March 18th at 1pm in Room 427 of the State House.

Something to think about. . .

As you may have heard the Bush Administration said each and every one of us would now get a nice rebate. If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China. If we spend it on gasoline it will all go to the Arabs, if we purchase a computer it will all go to India, if we purchase fruit and vegetables it will all go to Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala, if we purchase a good car it will all go to Japan, if we purchase useless crap it will all go to Taiwan and none of it will help the American economy. this came from an email I received