Thank you for your article about the policy discussions at Maine Medical Association’s Oct. 5 annual meeting (“Leaders of three associations fault Maine’s failure to expand Medicaid,” Oct. 6). I attended the meeting and was glad to participate in this important conversation.

I am a practicing physician, past president of the Maine Medical Association and business owner who owns my medical practice. I believe that ensuring that Mainers have affordable access to their doctor for preventive check-ups and tests is the key to longer, healthier lives across the state.

The most important way to improve access to care is for Maine to accept federal funding for 70,000 more people to receive health care beginning in 2014. Without these funds, these lower-income Mainers will not have reliable access to a doctor. Unfortunately, they are left out of the insurance marketplaces, either because they do not qualify for subsidies or because the subsidies aren’t sufficient to meet their needs.

Doctors from the Maine and American medical associations, consumer advocates such as AARP and dozens of other organizations in Maine all support accepting federal funds. We’re working to make affordable access to care for everyone a reality.

Maroulla Gleaton, MD

Augusta