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For MPBN's Your Vote 2014 live election results, click here.MPBN’s elections compendium is brought to you by AARP, MEMIC and Lambert Coffin.Debates:Click here to watch the 1st Congressional District debateClick here to watch the 2nd Congressional District debateClick here to watch the Senate debateClick here to watch the gubernatorial debateResources:Gubernatorial Race: GridPaul LePage (R)Mike Michaud (D): Profile, Maine Calling interviewEliot Cutler (I): Maine Calling interviewSenate Race: GridSusan Collins (R): Profile, Maine Calling interviewShenna Bellows (D): Profile, Maine Calling interview1st District Congressional Race: GridChellie Pingree (D): Profile, Maine Calling interviewIsaac Misiuk (R): Profile, Maine Calling interviewRichard Murphy (I): Profile, Maine Calling interview2nd District Congressional Race: GridEmily Cain (D): Profile, Maine Calling interviewBruce Poliquin (R): Profile, Maine Calling interviewBlaine Richardson (I): Profile, Maine Calling interviewFor a list of referendum questions, click here.

Democrat Michaud Unveils 10-Point Health Care Plan

A.J. Higgins
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MPBN

PORTLAND, Maine - Mike Michaud says Mainers must oppose Gov. Paul LePage's efforts to balance the state budget by siphoning off funding from a program that targets tobacco and other substance abuse. In discussing his 10-point "Plan for a Healthier Maine," the Democratic candidate said he would protect the Fund for a Healthy Maine, which pays for smoking cessation, prenatal home health visits and child care.

Michaud's opponents say LePage's priorities for the fund provide health solutions for the state's neediest residents.

As a state senator in 1999, Mike Michaud supported the creation of the Fund for a Healthy Maine, to receive and disburse annual tobacco settlements payments. The money was earmarked for health education and tobacco cessation programs, with smaller amounts directed toward improving the health of outcomes of young children.

The fund has been a frequent target of Republican Gov. Paul LePage, who has tried to use the money to balance the state budget, or to pay for his own policy initiatives, such as providing more money for Maine's nursing homes. Michaud says as governor, he will protect the fund, which he says prevents unhealthy habits from taking root in the first place.

"We must also invest in primary care and prevention to avoid the cost of preventable diseases, managing chronic illness and insure that Funds for a Healthy Maine are used for prevention - not a piggy bank to balance the budget," Michaud said.

Michaud's desire to expand pro-active health education programs, fight substance abuse and addiction, are part of his 10-point Plan for a Healthier Maine that he discussed with reporters in Portland. Other parts of the plan include expanding Medicaid under the president's Affordable Care Act to an additional 70,000 Mainers, conducting a top-to-bottom audit of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and finding other approaches to improving access to health care statewide.
 

Credit A.J. Higgins / MPBN
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MPBN
Dr. Elizabeth Cote Estrada, a Maine native who is preparing to leave her position as a White House consultant on the Affordable Care Act, tells reporters why she supports Democrat Mike Michaud's health care plan.

Dr. Elizabeth Cote Estrada is a former White House consultant on the ACA who plans to join the staff at the Central Medical Center In Lewiston. She supports Michaud, who she says is willing to work with health care policymakers who frequently hold different positions on the issues.

"In Mike we have a leader with a proven track record of working with everyone to do what's right for Mainers," Cote-Estrada said. "As a doctor and health policy nerd, I can tell you that Mike Michaud has a solid plan for improving our health while controlling costs. It's kind and cost-effective. His plan will make Maine a great place to live with my family, and for me to take care of patients."

Michaud says Maine and the nation remain locked in a complicated and costly health system that places a priority on the payment of every test and procedure instead of focusing on the overall well-being of a patient.

"Payment rewards illness, not prevention," Michaud said. "As a result. our country spends twice what other developed countries do on health care, yet we are less healthy. We can, and we must, do better."

"This is someone who has never managed anything in his life," says Eliot Cutler, an independent running for governor. Cutler says Mainers should think twice before they entrust the development of a statewide health care plan to Michaud. He says he would work with health care professionals to develop a comprehensive plan to address serious challenges to Maine residents, such as chronic disease and an aging population.

State Republican Party spokesman David Sorensen shares Cutler's assessment of Michaud's management abilities, and was particularly critical of the Democrat's Medicaid expansion plan.

"Mike Michaud's health care plan is the same now as it was in 2001, he wants to expand Medicaid," Sorensen said. "We saw what happened with the hospital debt. Mike Michaud created the hospital debt by expanding Medicaid and he wants to do it all over again."

While LePage has been a reliable opponent of Medicaid expansion, Michaud and Cutler both say the state's health care profile would benefit by extending coverage to more Mainers.