Sen. Henry Ingwersen, D-Arundel, chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, speaks at a news conference that Democrats in the Maine Legislature held Tuesday to speak out against proposed federal cuts to Medicaid. Photo courtesy of Maine Senate Majority Office

AUGUSTA — Maine lawmakers clashed Tuesday over the future of the state’s Medicaid program, with Democrats expressing concerns about proposed cuts at the federal level while Republicans continued to push for state-level reforms to a program they say is unsustainable.

Democrats held a State House news conference to call attention to the cuts being proposed by Republicans in Congress, which they said could result in tens of thousands of Maine residents losing health care through MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program.

“I didn’t run for office to watch health care be cut for the rest of us while the ultrawealthy avoid paying their fair share,” said Maine Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick. “But that’s exactly what could happen if the Republicans in Congress succeed in slashing Medicaid funding through tax cuts.”

Congressional Republicans are considering sweeping cuts to Medicaid as part of a budget package they’re putting together. Some of the proposals include adding work requirements for adult recipients and rolling back a Medicaid expansion enacted as part of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.

That has included discussion about proposed “per capita caps” that would limit how much the federal government pays per enrollee — which could shift costs to states, prompting them to narrow eligibility or scale back services.

About 400,000 people in Maine have Medicaid coverage, or about 29% of the state’s 1.4 million residents. Nationally, about 1 in 5 people has Medicaid coverage.

Democrats in the Legislature condemned the proposed cuts Tuesday, saying they would disproportionately affect children and would add to the challenges at rural hospitals and nursing homes. Those facilities are already strained because of curtailed MaineCare payments that took effect in March after lawmakers failed to pass an emergency budget funding a gap in the MaineCare budget.

They also highlighted several Democratic bills aimed at safeguarding health care access, including LD 558, to protect consumers from the negative impacts of medical debt; LD 143, to increase state funding for family planning services; and LD 1523, to expand access to doula care in light of recent closures of hospital birthing units.

At their own news conference Tuesday, legislative Republicans criticized Democrats for failing to include more than $100 million in anticipated MaineCare cost increases in fiscal year 2027 in the continuing services budget approved in March. Democrats have said the approved budget was a baseline and that they will take up funding shortfalls and major policy proposals in the next phase of budget work.

“I think what Democrats are doing is what they always do — pointing the finger at Republicans saying that we want to cut your health care and do this and that,” said House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor. “They’re pointing at the national Republicans. They’re pointing at the state Republicans, but what we’re seeing here in the state of Maine is that they’ve created a problem, which is that the health care system is not solvent.”

Republicans had pushed for MaineCare reform during negotiations over a supplemental budget that failed to get approval earlier this legislative session, specifically calling for enrollment limits for “able-bodied” childless adults, as well as a requirement for work, education or community service.

Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, called again for work requirements for MaineCare enrollees Tuesday.

“We are trying to save (this program) so it is there for those who actually need it,” Stewart said.

Daughtry, the Senate president, said Democrats are willing to discuss reforms to MaineCare that are tailored to Maine.

“If we see a plan that is not copy and pasted from Project 2025, D.C. or the failed plan out of Georgia, we are willing to discuss anything that will improve any of our government plans,” Daughtry said.

Georgia included a work requirement when it opted into an Affordable Care Act expansion in 2023, but its program has been criticized for adding an administrative burden to the state and making it harder for people to access health care for reasons beyond their control, such as if they work in low-paying jobs that reduce hours without notice or if they lack child care.

“Unfortunately, what we’ve had is the same things over and over,” Daughtry said.