Paychecks across Maine are stretched thin as costs keep rising and Mainers struggle to afford everyday life. It would be horrible to add more cost to vulnerable neighbors’ budgets by cutting Medicaid. That’s why I am standing up alongside the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and fighting to protect it.

One-fifth of our state population is covered by Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), including one in three children, two in three nursing home residents, and three in eight working-age adults with disabilities. Cutting Medicaid as proposed would pose catastrophic consequences for these populations, leaving hundreds of thousands of Mainers without health insurance and wreaking havoc on our local health infrastructure and state economy.

The Commonwealth Fund in a recent report detailed the impact of these potential cuts on Maine, sharing that the State could lose $344.8 million in federal funding, $452.4 million in state GDP, and almost $40 million in state and local tax revenue. In short, this would be catastrophic for Maine.

When I was elected to represent the 136th district in the Maine House, I took seriously my obligation to stand up for the vulnerable, as well as to the well-being of all my constituents — I hope that our representatives in Washington will do the same. I am calling on our Congressional delegation to stand with me and ACS CAN and protect Medicaid for the Mainers who need it.

Hon. Heidi Sampson
Alfred