State Rep. Anne Graham joined health care advocates Friday for a press conference to highlight the impacts Medicaid cuts could have in Maine.
Nearly a third of Maine residents are enrolled in MaineCare, the state's Medicaid program. Graham said she has heard the stories of residents who rely on MaineCare to access medical care.
"Mainers need to realize that these are not just numbers," she said. "These are not just statistics. This is real. This is harming our neighbors, our friends, our family."
Graham said the cuts would devastate Mainers who rely on MaineCare, and many hospitals where the majority of patients are covered by it.
Toby McGrath, with Protect Our Care, said recent reports show that 338 rural hospitals across the country would be at risk of closing. That includes two Maine hospitals — in Ellsworth and Presque Isle.
He said those closures can have major consequences in rural areas, where hospitals are often the largest employers.
"And so if you're looking at shutting down hospitals and hundreds of workers having to be displaced and find new jobs and move to southern Maine or out of state, that doesn't just harm the health care — the physical well-being of people — it also affects the economic well-being," McGrath said.
In a letter to the state's congressional delegation, Gov. Janet Mills cited an independent study suggesting that Maine could lose $4.5 billion in federal Medicaid dollars over the next decade.
