The Hill - Backers of [Maine Medicaid] expansion initiative, which voters approved on Tuesday, said they hope cooler heads will prevail once the legislature reconvenes in January. They believe that despite his defiance, LePage can’t succeed in blocking the expansion from happening.
But if the governor tries, expansion supporters said they will take him to court to force its implementation.
“He can stall it, but the terms of the law call for him to implement [expansion],” said Christine Hastedt, public policy director for Maine Equal Justice Partners, a legal advocacy group. “Once there is a law establishing your right to benefits under the program, you have to provide it,” even in the face of a budget impasse.
“[LePage] doesn’t get to pick what laws he decides to observe and not observe,” Hastedt added.
Under Maine’s constitution, a voter-approved initiative that requires the state to spend money will automatically become law 45 days after the legislature next convenes if there hasn’t been money appropriated.
The legislature convenes Jan. 3, 2018, so the expansion would become law in mid-February. The administration then has 90 days from that date to submit the required paperwork to the federal government, and a total of 180 days to start implementing the newly expanded coverage.
If everything happens according to schedule, newly eligible Medicaid beneficiaries won’t start getting covered until sometime in August, 2018.
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