AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) _ Maine lawmakers have failed again to override Republican Gov. Paul LePage's vetoes of bills that would expand Medicaid under the federal health care law.
The Senate voted 21-14 in favor of overturning LePage's rejection of Senate Democratic Leader Troy Jackson's Medicaid expansion bill, falling three votes short of the two-thirds majority support it needed to survive.
The House also voted 94-53 to sustain the veto of Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves' bill. It would have directed Maine to seek permission from the federal government to use the Medicaid funds to provide private health insurance on the federal exchange.
Democrats say the failure to expand will leave thousands without access to affordable coverage. But LePage and GOP lawmakers say the expansion will be too costly.