Larry Dansinger raised a hypothetical question in the Aug. 9 edition of the newspaper (letter, “Manslaughter charges for no-insurance deaths?”). He asked about legislators or the governor being prosecuted for the crime of manslaughter because of the possible, albeit unintentional, deaths of Maine citizens resulting from their removal from MaineCare.

The question isn’t as far-fetched as it might seem on first read.

A member of our family was among those 27,000 people cut off from MaineCare by the administration.

My daughter advocated in every way possible for a waiver that would have enabled her to retain prescription coverage, unaffordable for her without MaineCare.

She was met with resistance and refusal at every turn. Without her prescribed medicines, her life itself would be at risk.

She contacted the office of her state senator, Chris Johnson of District 20, and his staff.

They took an immediate and personal interest in the case, fueled by a sense of responsibility to constituents, plain decency and the caring one hopes to find in elected officials. No stone was left unturned.

With the help of Johnson and his staff, plus the aid of Maine Equal Justice Partners and Pine Tree Legal, our daughter’s MaineCare coverage was restored.

We are enormously grateful to everyone who intervened on her behalf, but we are concerned for the others of that 27,000-person figure who may not have knowledge about or access to advocacy for review of their cases.

They really aren’t faceless to those of us who know and love them, nor to people of the caliber of Johnson and his staff.

Judith Robbins

Whitefield

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