Here are six observations:
1. Gov. LePage claims Medicaid expansion will cost the state a substantial amount of money, despite the Senate supporting the use of federal funds to buy coverage for low-income residents.
2. Senators Tom Saviello (R-Wilton) and Roger Katz (R-Augusta) sponsored the bill, which would use the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace to expand Medicaid.
3. The bill would also have beneficiaries pay small premiums for their insurance.
4. If the bill passed, more than 70,000 Maine residents who earn between 100 percent and 138 percent of the federal poverty level would gain access to coverage.
5. The legislation would require the federal government to pay 100 percent of the expansion costs through 2016, with the federal share falling to 90 percent by 2020.
6. So far, 31 other U.S. states have expanded Medicaid under the ACA.
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