Hi, this is Representative Billy Bob Faulkingham of Winter Harbor with the Weekly Republican Radio Address.
Imagine you are on a boat that is taking on water.
The passengers — Maine taxpayers — are desperately bailing water just to keep the boat afloat.
You want to inspect the boat, find out where the water is coming from, and fix the leaks.
But when you approach the captain — Governor Mills — and ask for an inspection, she refuses, insisting everything is fine.
Meanwhile, the crew — legislative Democrats — is drilling additional holes in the boat.
And while everyone is distracted, pirates — fraudulent service providers — are coming from every direction to loot the disabled craft.
That may sound like an exaggeration.
Unfortunately, it is a pretty good description of what has been happening with MaineCare.
For more than eight years, Republicans have warned that dramatically expanding MaineCare, including adding able-bodied, childless adults and non-citizens, would put enormous pressure on a program that was supposed to provide a safety net for Maine’s most vulnerable people.
Consider this comparison.
Maine and New Hampshire have the same population.
Yet as of May 1, New Hampshire had 168,652 people enrolled in its Medicaid program.
According to Maine’s Office of Fiscal and Program Review, Maine had more than 389,370 people enrolled in MaineCare, including nearly 8,000 people classified as federally non-qualified or otherwise foreign nationals.
Now for nearly a decade we’ve had total Democrat control in Augusta. Republicans have sounded the alarm and offered solutions.
We have called for independent audits, stronger Department of Health and Human Services oversight, data-driven reviews of programs and spending, and policies that focus limited taxpayer resources on the people who truly need public assistance.
Now, the problems have become too large to ignore.
Reports of fraud, waste and abuse involving MaineCare service providers have raised serious questions about where millions of taxpayer dollars are going. Allegations involving questionable client lists and billing for services that may never have been provided demand answers.
Taxpayers deserve to know who received their money, what services were actually delivered, and why the state’s oversight systems failed to identify problems sooner.
And while MaineCare struggles, Mainers buying health insurance on the individual market have been hit with premium increases of 24 percent.
Instead of working with Republicans to confront these problems, Democrats have repeatedly turned to higher taxes and more spending — increasing the burden on working families, seniors, and lower-income Mainers.
Now we’re hearing a new slogan: “Medicare for All.”
But changing the slogan doesn’t fix the leaks.
Before Augusta creates another massive government health care expansion, Maine should demonstrate that it can properly manage the program it already has.
Republicans recognized these problems early and have repeatedly proposed reforms that emphasize accountability, oversight, and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.
Our goal isn’t to destroy MaineCare.
It’s exactly the opposite.
We want to protect MaineCare, so it remains available and financially sustainable for Maine’s most vulnerable people — including children, seniors, people with disabilities and others who genuinely depend upon it.
The boat is taking on water.
Maine taxpayers shouldn’t simply be told to bail faster.
It’s time to find the leaks, stop the fraud, repair the damage, and make sure MaineCare is there for the people who truly need it.
This has been Representative Billy BobFaulingham with the Weekly Republican Radio Address.
Thank you for listening.
Please help us change Maine for the better: subscribe, share, and follow us on Facebook, X, TikTok, and Instagram.
###
