Rather than cut health care to a family of four with less than $30,000 annual income, I would urge Gov. Paul Lepage and the Legislature to start thinking out of the box to create jobs while cutting state expenditures as the state of New Jersey and other states are doing.

Maine has the largest percentage of senior citizens.

Many of these live alone, in solitary confinement on limited rations. There has been no cost of living increase for the past three years, monthly Medicare premiums have risen steeply along with deductibles for health care and medications.

Far too many are carted off in ambulances to emergency rooms, expensive hospital and nursing home care.

Many of these occur because there is no one in the home to help them cook, bath, dress, shop, get to the doctor or pharmacy, mangage their medications, bills or finances. Many don’t know what services are available to them.

If the governor and Legislature could realize that a visit or two per week by trained homemaker/home health aides to provide help with disabled elderly basic needs, the state no doubt could avoid hundreds of thousands of Medicaid/Medicare dollars per year while creating new paramedical jobs.

No doubt such a bill would receive wide support from the largest voting bloc in the state — the elderly — most of home who want to stay at home and out of costly, tax-supported nursing homes.

Patrick Eisenhart

Augusta