Mills, Pingree urge Congress to reverse looming Maine Medicaid cuts
Gov. Janet Mills and Gov.-elect Hannah Pingree said Friday they are hoping the newly elected Democratic congressional majority will reverse federal Medicaid and SNAP cuts set to take effect in January as Pingree takes office. Pingree said new eligibility requirements are expected to make thousands of low-income Mainers ineligible for Medicaid, and that state funding cannot replace the lost federal dollars or alter the new requirements. Mills said postponing the Medicaid cuts "should be an easy thing" for Congress to do and also called for reversing changes to Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, which she said caused steep premium increases that led almost 10,000 Mainers to cancel marketplace health plans. Both governors discussed the cuts during a joint press conference on their gubernatorial transition.