[HCCN] Fwd: The Republicans' Devastating (purely partisan) Cuts in Augusta

[Dick Atlee]

The word devastating is used aptly in this case. You NEED to let Brian 
Langley hear from you if you haven't already.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	The Republicans' Devastating Cuts
Date: 	Sat, 12 May 2012 21:02:08 -0400
From: 	Jennifer Lunden LCSW, LADC, CCS 
<center at thecenterforcreativehealing.com>

Hello All,

It is as we feared. Despite negotiating bipartisan budgets throughout
the past year and a half, the Majority party decided to work behind
closed doors to craft their budget after getting a secret memo from
Governor LePage. This budget is /devastating/. (Read below for details.)
But there is still time. This budget still needs to pass a vote. Because
the Republicans are in the majority, Democrats can't stop them. All we
have left is the hope of swaying moderate Republicans or Republicans in
districts that put them at risk for losing the November elections.

Here is a list of those Republicans:

Andre Cushing (running for Senate)
Karen Foster
Jim Hamper
Ryan Harmon
Jane Knapp
Gary Knight
Joyce Maker
Kim Olsen
Jon Courtney (in leadership and running for Congress)
**************************
* Brian Langley -- langley4legislature at myfairpoint.net
**************************
Earl McCormick
Kevin Raye (in leadership and running for Congress)

Contact ANY Republican legislators you know personally to express your
dismay and concern.

Here is a link to find out how to contact your
legislators: 
http://www.maine.gov/portal/government/edemocracy/lookup_voter_info .

Also, THIS Tuesday, there will be a SILENT PROTEST between the House and
Senate chambers. People will meet at the State House between 9:30 and 11
a.m. as the deliberations get underway. Wear black if you are so
inclined. It is to be a somber event and there will be press coverage.

Read on to get the details of these budget cuts from Susan Lamb, the
director of the Maine Chapter of the National Association of Social
Workers (NASW):

Cuts that will harm seniors and people with disabilities:

  • Cuts the Drugs for the Elderly Program (DEL) that helps
seniors and people with disabilities afford their prescription drugs by
eliminating eligibility for people between 175-185% FPL of the poverty
level. These are individuals with serious health conditions such as
diabetes, heart disease and Lou Gehrig's disease.

•  Cuts the Medicare Savings Program (MSP) that helps seniors
and people with disabilities pay for prescription drugs and health care
costs:

   o   This cut will eliminate all help paying for Medicare Part B and
Part D premiums; payments for co-insurance and deductibles; and support
through the donut hole for people between 175-185% FPL. This cut
combined with the cut to DEL above will eliminate help for 1,850 people.

   o    This cut will eliminate help paying for Medicare Part A and B
deductibles and co-insurance for 3,799 people between 140-150% FPL.
These costs can add up to over $1,300 a year plus 20% of all
non-hospital services.

Cuts that will harm low-income children and families:

  •   Eliminates MaineCare coverage for another 14,500 low-income
working parents (those with income between 100-133% FPL). As part of a
compromise earlier this session, the legislature already voted to
eliminate coverage for 14,000 working parents between 133-200% FPL.
This would double the amount of parents who will have coverage stripped
from them and targets parents who are struggling with even fewer resources.

  •   Cuts to many programs supported by the Fund for a Healthy
Maine, including:

   o Cuts $2M of funding for Head Start, which means that 216 very young
children will no longer have access to Head Start and the vital supports
it provides to these children and their families. Head Start is an
investment in these children's future, as it provides early care and
education, as well as health, nutrition, mental health, social and
family supports;

   o Cuts nearly $2M of funding for the Child Care Subsidy Program.  This
will lead to a deep cut in the availability of child care vouchers for
families with incomes below 250% FPL and will negatively impact 1,400
children. The child care subsidy program helps parents with low income
to afford the child care they need in order to work;

   o Eliminates funding ($2.6 M) for the Maine Families Home Visiting
Program, which will eliminate vital services for Maine's most vulnerable
infants and children.  Approximately 750 families will lose services
focused on family substance abuse, domestic violence, prevention of
abusive head trauma, and the health and safety of children;

   o Eliminates funding ($401,430) for Family Planning. This will result
in the closure of seven rural clinics that provide health care, plus
other reductions in services in other locations.

   o Eliminates $300,000 for dental services for people with low incomes
and no other source of dental help.

Cuts that will harm low-income young adults:

  •  The complete elimination of MaineCare coverage for 7,000
young adults (19 and 20 year olds) who are under 150% of the poverty
level. Although most uninsured young adults work full-time, employment
is typically in low-wage jobs, for small firms, and in industries where
employer-sponsored insurance is less likely to be provided. As a result,
low-income young adults have little financial ability to purchase health
coverage and are far more likely to be uninsured than other age groups.
This proposal will increase Maine's uninsured rolls by over 7,000 people.

I'm sorry the news is so bad. We will have to keep on fighting through
the election and until we can make things right.

Onward,
Lunden