Editor,

Before 2002, Angus King’s Medicaid expansion, the poverty rate was just 10.5 percent and in 2006 the poverty rate increased to 13 percent.

Today, Maine is the worst state in the country for businesses. Also statistics show Maine hospitals absorbed hospital care costs of $150 million between 2001 and 2011.

If Maine passes the ballot question 2, there will be an additional 144,000 working class Mainers ages 21 to 64 earning less than 138 percent qualify for Medicaid. The 79,500 Mainers who do not qualify will be left absorbing the costs through increased medical costs and insurance. This will force Maine citizens to quit working as well more businesses including doctors leave our state.

Maine will go bankrupt and the U.S. Government will decrease its funding. Again statistics and history has revealed this. Medicaid spending in Maine grew from $1.4 billion in 2002 to $2.6 billion in 2011 and within the next 5 years it will spend additional $400 million. This amounts to $180 annual tax per household or cuts to other programs in Maine and $2400 for every person in America by 2025.

Increasing costs of health care on hospitals and states will only hurt the citizens. Research has already revealed this in Arizona, Alaska, Arkansas, New Hampshire with drug overdose, sales tax increase, lack of doctors, waiting lists, etc.

What we truly need is to repeal the ACA, create competition, expand businesses, and be more innovative. Medicaid is not a health insurance and never was intended as such. It is only there for an emergency, an emergency fund, for the disabled and elderly that can not pay. It is not a permanent health insurance.

Crystal Joy

Maine Heritage Policy Center