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LePage Meets with Legislature to Discuss Riverview, Alexander Report

For the first time since January, Gov. LePage met with the top leaders of the Legislature. In a closed door meeting he told them he won't seek a full refund from the consultant who produced a plagiarized report on Maine's Medicaid system. The meeting was described as businesslike — with some heat.

Democratic Speaker of the House Mark Eves and Senate President Justin Alfond have been trying to meet with Gov. LePage for months, but two previously scheduled meetings were canceled. When they sat down with the governor Thursday morning, Eves says they had two things they wanted to talk about.

"Our purpose, and what was on the agenda, was to talk about the Alexander Report and Riverview," he says.

The Alexander Report is the nearly million dollar study Gov. LePage ordered last year to examine Maine's Medicaid program. The no-bid contract was subsequently canceled after plagiarism was found in the report. But the state had already paid half of the bill. Eves says the taxpayers deserve to get all of their money back.

"We requested and urged the governor to get a full refund," Eves says. "He has spent $500,000 of taxpayer money on a fraudulent report.

"I think the governor and the state of Maine have sort of closed that chapter," says Republican House Minority Leader Ken Fredette, who was in Thursday's meeting as well. "I think they've been held accountable. There's a certain amount of money we probably can't get back because of the availability to collect funds."

The next item on the agenda was the Riverview Psychiatric Center. The state hospital lost federal certification nearly a year ago for safety violations. A new superintendent took over in March, but Riverview failed a federal inspection again in May. Eves says he's concerned about safety at Riverview — and what Maine will do if it continues to fail certification and loses $20 million in expected federal funding.

"We need to plan appropriately if that's gonna happen," Eves says. "That's a lot of money."

Gov. LePage says Riverview is a work in progress.

"The Riverview issue is being appealed," LePage says. "It's gonna end up in federal court, we know that. So it's just a matter of time."

While the Alexander Report and Riverview were tops on Democratic leaders' minds, Gov. LePage had other concerns to discuss with the lawmakers.

"There are children being born addicted to drugs," LePage says. "There are people overdosing every day on drugs. We're fighting to keep our nursing homes open, and they just want to talk about it. I want action."

LePage asked Democratic leaders a number of times this summer to convene a special session to address these issues. Speaker Eves says if the governor really wants a special session, he can call it. Eves points out the Legislature tried to take action on two bills proposed by LePage at the end of the regular session. One would have given extra funding to nursing homes. Another would have hired more drug enforcement agents, judges, and drug prosecutors. But those bills failed after they were amended and lawmakers got word the governor would veto them if they passed.

"As he often does, he said, 'My way or the highway,' and all 13 members of the Appropriations Committee came to a unanimous decision around that bill," Eves says.

Gov. LePage says Rep. Eves and Sen. Alfond are more about politics than policy.

"They said I'm an impossible person to deal with," LePage says. "And I will tell you this. I am one tough negotiator. And I will not buckle under and negotiate or compromise on bad policy."

It appears the long-awaited meeting generated more heat than light on the issues that were discussed.