19 months ago
AUGUSTA (NEWS CENTER) -- The state of Maine is getting a lot of gifts from the federal economic stimulus package. Some of the money will create jobs -- and some of it will pay off old bills from the Medicaid program. Governor Baldacci says it now looks like Maine will get about $300 million for Medicaid over the next two years and three months. Some of the money will be used to avoid major Medicaid cuts because of the recession. But the Governor and legislature have also promised to use the money to pay off a long-standing debt to hospitals. The Maine Hospital Association says the state owes a total of $424 million for services to Medicaid patients that were never paid for. The Governor says the debt will be paid over the next two years, and hospital officials say it will make a big difference. Mary Mayhew, from the Maine Hospital Association, said, "B
The Governor says $102 million will be used to pay off the hospital debt. Because Medicaid is a matching program with the federal government, they expect the balance of the back debt to be covered by the feds. Some of the rest of the Medicaid stimulus money will go toward avoiding budget cuts, and some will be set aside for future one-time expenses.
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