The Maine House advanced a bipartisan bill on Wednesday that aims to fast-track $118 million in Medicaid payments to hospitals and other health care providers.
But the fate of the measure remains unclear given the partisan disagreements over MaineCare and other welfare programs.
The state's Medicaid program, known as MaineCare, currently has a nearly $120 million funding shortfall. The Democratic-controlled Legislature voted earlier this spring to plug that hole as part of a two-year budget bill. But the money won't be available until late June because that budget failed to pass with the two-thirds support needed to take effect immediately.
As a result, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services has reduced or delayed payments to hospitals and some other MaineCare providers until the additional funding becomes available.
The late-filed bill taken up by the House on Wednesday, LD 1948, would make the funding available immediately in order to expedite those payments to hospitals and other MaineCare providers. The bill was sponsored by one Democrat and three Republican lawmakers.
But some lawmakers objected to — or were confused by — Democratic leaders' decision to bypass the normal committee-review process for bills in order to fast-track the funding. Responding to questions from Republican lawmakers, House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, said the intent of the bill was identical to the earlier attempts during the budget-writing process to provide emergency MaineCare funding.
"The policy matter at hand has already been debated in both chambers," Fecteau said.
Rep. Ken Fredette, R-Newport, responded by pointing out that he didn't see the need for another vote on the issue. After Fredette failed in an effort to kill the bill, he then pointed out that it will require approval by two-thirds of members of the House on a final vote.
Democrats failed to reach that threshold in March during their first attempt to pass an emergency stopgap funding bill due to opposition from Republicans demanding additional changes to Maine's welfare programs.
