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Projected DHHS budget deficit increases $50 million in two weeks

By Mal Leary, Capitol News Service

Posted Nov. 21, 2011, at 6:12 p.m.

Pat Wellenbach | AP

Mary Mayhew, Commissioner of Health and Human Services, outlines further tax cuts as she updates lawmakers on state revenues in advance of a report on progress finding $25 million in budget cuts to balance the state budget at a hearing in Augusta on Monday, Oct. 24, 2011.

AUGUSTA, Maine — The budget deficit for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services has been revised to $121 million, up from the $71 million reported to lawmakers two weeks ago.

The prospect of a deeper deficit at DHHS angered some lawmakers Monday, who questioned the credibility of the numbers provided to the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee.

“Some of the things in the first numbers we are now told is not a problem and others are not being addressed in this presentation,” said Rep. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, lead Democrat and former chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee.

Rotundo said while it is clear there are budget problems at the agency, DHHS has not provided adequate explanations of the accounts that are in the red and why they are in the red.

“We can’t start cutting programs that will have a huge impact on Maine people until we have an adequate explanation of these numbers and projections,” she said.

DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew said the information given to lawmakers Monday focused entirely on MaineCare and MaineCare-related funds.

“We are looking at other [budget] lines and one that we continue to be concerned about is general assistance,” she said.

MaineCare is the state’s name for Medicaid, the joint state-federal program that provides lower-income Mainers with an array of health-related services. The federal government pays roughly two-thirds the cost of the services.

Mayhew said the general assistance program, which reimburses some costs to cities and towns after they have reached a minimum threshold of spending, also is over budget, as it has been historically. She pegged that need at $3.7 million for this budget year.

Mayhew said the total amount needed to fill the DHHS deficit for this budget year has yet to be determined and could be presented to lawmakers as an emergency funding bill as soon as next week. She also said several of the programs that contributed to the deficit will continue into the next year and will be addressed in a later budget bill.

“I think it is fair to say that at least $50 million will continue into the next budget year and will have to be addressed in another supplemental budget,” she said.

Sen. Richard Rosen, R-Bucksport, co-chairman of the committee, agreed with Rotundo that the panel will need more detailed and complete information before dealing with any proposed DHHS budget.

“We obviously need more information, and the committee honed in on that,” he said, “and the commissioner responded that they will be coming forward with additional background information to explain the overruns.”

Rosen said based on the presentation to lawmakers and answers from DHHS at the meeting, he does not know how much of a budget shortfall the agency faces in this budget year. He said the deficit will have to be explained with enough detail to be credible to the committee.

“I can’t say with absolute confidence that we are sure what the ultimate demand for dollars will be to bring the [fiscal year 2012] budget into balance,” he said.

Mayhew said her staff is analyzing the large number of programs funded through MaineCare. She said bad assumptions in the past have been carried forward from year to year and the methodologies used in projecting costs have been faulty.

“We have to do a better job predicting increased demand for services and what that is going to mean to our overall budget,” she said. “Many of those errors of the past are coming home to roost.”

Mayhew said as each program has been thoroughly reviewed, initial estimates of costs have been revised. In comparing documents released two weeks ago with those given to the Appropriations Committee on Monday, several estimates are dramatically different. For example, the estimate of paying premiums required under Medicare was $5 million two weeks ago and is $10 million in documents given to lawmakers on Monday.

The Appropriations Committee members tentatively set Dec. 14-15 for public hearings on the proposed emergency budget for DHHS, assuming that Gov. Paul LePage will submit his proposal by Dec. 1-2.

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Anonymous

Rosen said based on the presentation to lawmakers and answers from DHHS at the meeting, he does not know how much of a budget shortfall the agency faces in this budget year. This is the same Sen. Rosen that declared that he “Was Shocked” to learn the extent of the unfunded state pension liabilities last year .. and he was the minority leader of the oversite committee. Makes one wonder what he does know.. but more scary what he doesn’t know and should know. Voter alert – Time for a change to this family dynasty of power that has outlived it’s mandate.
Anonymous

It seems to me that, after almost a year in office, the LePage administration does not have a handle on the budgets. And, they continue to blame it on previous administrations. I really don’t know how they are going to do zero based budgeting when they don’t really know anything about their budgets.
StillRelaxin

Ok, here we go again. Another example of the LePage administration having trouble either telling us the truth or simply having difficulty with mathematics. Mayhew doesn’t seem able to “Say anything for sure” other than this math problem must be the result of past practices. It couldn’t be that she hasn’t a clue to what she’s doing. Or could it? Watch those numbers change yet again in a few weeks.
OldWench

This is what happens when you fire agency heads in order to put inexperienced and unqualified puppets in their place.
Anonymous

Yeah, it kind of sounds like all the liberals blaming the Bush administration for all of its short comings.

That being said, this agency for years, under many administrations has proven time and again that they cannot, or will not handle the taxpayers money with any degree of responsibility. It is time to dismantle DHHS and start from scratch and a budget that also starts with $0.00. Take care of those that cannot take care of themselves, the ones that choose to not be self sufficient should be tough out of luck. There are generations of families in the State of Maine that have made a career out of the “entitlement” game. We can no longer afford this, as it is going to bankrupt this state. It is time for tough love when it comes to drug abusing, law breaking and female baby factories that will never in their life do one thing that is productive. Make it workfare, drug test participants and move to mandatory birth control. The guidelines to receive benefits are way too lax and need to be revised. The time is here and our politicians need to act now.
Anonymous

Is ROBert Nutting back in the pharmacy business again???
StillRelaxin

Hey you forgot forced sterilizations and death camps. You must be getting soft! Actually aside from some of the off hinged comments that have little basis in fact I think most folks would not argue against providing assistance to the needy and not those few that might abuse our welfare systems. We all would like a better system that better directs our taxes, yes? Having said that I would also add that if you want to whine about what has or does exist please provide some factual numbers. Everytime I see some reporting on this subject, much of what you claim here is largely unsupported.
OldWench

Um…there actually needs to be abundant full time jobs available for all those who are getting assistance but could work in order for them to actually support themselves and their families. I don’t think anyone would disagree that there are plenty of people getting help who are capable of working. The problem is that there simply are NOT jobs for them. There are people with 4 year college degrees working at McDonalds for crying out loud. There is a lack of jobs. What jobs are available that don’t require specialized training/education/experience are almost all part time and minimum wage and weekend hours and even competition for those jobs are stiff.
Anonymous

$ 50 million dollars??
Peanuts. You aint seen nuthin yet.

FIRE Ms. Mayhew. Now.
She , obviously , dont know nuthin about nuthin !!

And another thing.
Want to cut the DHHS budget ??
No more handouts to layabouts.
Sheeeesh !
Anonymous

The forced birth control is directed to the young mother that comes to the system with one child and now 2 years later has three, if you want to have multiple children than you better be able to support them. Not one thing I said would justify you using the term “death camps” There are more than a few abusers of the welfare system and you know it. If you want proof of the abuse that is going on with welfare just open your eyes. I have seen firsthand the unauthorized use of EBT cards, boyfriends that are the fathers of dependent children living in the household when the mother professes that the father cannot be located or better yet she has no idea who the father is. I suppose that you would be against mandatory drug testing recipients as well, god forbid if they had to give up drugs and crime to qualify for benefits. I am not whining, I am stating the fact that if this system is not fixed it will bankrupt this state. If you think I am wrong will you please take up that part of my state tax bill, because I am tired of it? I also noticed you chose not to respond to the first sentence of my post, but I did not figure any respectable liberal would.
P.S. How could anyone decipher any kind of factual numbers out of Maine’s DHHS.
Anonymous

The ones I am speaking of (and there are many) would not walk across the street to even apply for a job, let alone be desirable to hire in the first place. We see them everyday walking the streets and hanging on street corners talking and texting on a phone that more than likely you paid for.
Anonymous

This just shows you they have no clue in Augusta! just a 50 million dollar mistake……let’s see what it will be next week!
Anonymous

” we have to do a better job of PREDICTING increased demand “..meaning welfare is run rampant.. to easy to get and case workers handing it out like candy to a child…in order to have job security. case loads..plain & simple.. you can get rid of my job look at all the welfare cases I have (created) to take care of, all these cases of starving clients…

on top of taking care of all the past years of bad forecasting
Anonymous

Kind of like the current administration in Washington, three years in and no light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to spending our tax dollars as fast as water through a sieve.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NXPTPFL746OV2VGR5WBOEUF6W4 Roger

The best thing that could happen is to close the doors on dhhs for good.
Anonymous

The “angry” dems should look in the mirror. They established generational welfare in this state in return for dem votes. Time to end this game were families are stuck in liberal poverty waiting for the next handout from there taskmasters.
Anonymous

Keep up the good work Governor, clean up the abuse and fraud!!
Anonymous

Thanks for the Fox refresher. Try to stay on topic
Anonymous

Yeah, I don’t think Mary has a clue as to what she is doing.
Anonymous

” those few that might abuse our welfare system”. Do you have any contact with the outside world? Don’t you ever see men in their 20′s, 30′s and 40′s hanging around all day doing nothing? Don’t you know of the old separation trick to get a check then move back in? Haven’t you heard of ” my bad back”? If you answered no to any of those you need to get out more. My neighbor’s wife has severe migraines so he has to stay home and take care of her, while she babysits two grandchildren everyday! Know a lady who’s in her 40′s that got her check recently because of ailments so she can’t work. Best part is she never worked a day in her life anyway. She’s now spending the winter in Florida. Oh, and before I go, she told me to tell you, “Thank You Very Much”!
Anonymous

It is not a Fox refresher; I don’t need a news outlet to do my thinking for me. It is a comment made in direct relation to comments made by others that insist that the Lepage administration is blaming this fiasco on this state’s previous administration. I am sure that these are the same people that have vehemently defended the Obama administration from the same allegations in the past.
Anonymous

ARE THERE ANY NEW IDEAS? I’m so sick of the same regurgitated Fox crap. Yes we know there is welfare abuse. Is there more people abusing the system than people who don’t? NO! Do you have a practical plan to send the abusers packing? No! Should poor people have more kids than they can support? No! Do you have a way to stop poor people from having more kids than they can support, without shredding the constitution? NO!

Some NEW and PRACTICLE ideas would be nice there captain obvious.
Anonymous

Then report them to DHHS, how else do you think we are going to get the abusers off of the system?
Mark Felt

the abuse and fraud is now sitting with his own Commissioner Mayhew! She has been on the job for nearly ONE YEAR, and she still can’t figure this out?!?
Anonymous

Yes, for the Republicans it is not all right to say President Obama inherited a mess from the Bush administration , but it is all right to say that LePage can’t help it as he inherited from the previous Maine Governor’s. Yes, very obvious.
Anonymous

I don’t need a news outlet to do my thinking for me.

Yes you do, that is why it’s the same tired talking points you see turned out of the propaganda machine every day after day after day.
Mark Felt

Best comment i’ve seen in a while! How long does she plan to point the finger to the past? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!!
Mark Felt

don’t sugar coat it. She DOES NOT have a clue what she’s doing. She has been on the job going on 12 months. Pathetic! What’s really interesting is that DHHS and Education make up the largest part of the state budget. I don’t hear Education pouting in the corner and blaming the predecessor.
Mark Felt

She is a joke. It has been nearly 12 months since she took over. Time to cut the losses, Mayhew needs to go.
Mark Felt

Bingo! Mayhew has been on the job for nearly 12 months. All she can do is pout and blame her predecessor. She needs to go!
Anonymous

I don’t think Ms Mayhew is necessarily incompetent or to blame here; but she’s also not the ”girl wonder” she was touted to be when she left the lobbying hospital association to come save the state of Maine. The myriad of programs under DHHS are complex as to what they pay and even more complicated in the way they are funded. Ms Mayhew and the Gov. should have been more humble as they came in to “clean house”. And squeaky little politicians who know very little and are surprised after 8 years in office should know better.
Anonymous

Since they only want to cut one or two programs, they don’t even look at an other categories, it seems. No wonder the Penguin had such a hard time getting anybody with a brain to take the job at DHHS. Not quite sure he succeeded as it is.
Anonymous

There are a number of things that need to be noted here. First of all, they knew 2 months ago that the $70 million was not accurate – the real number is probably closer to $150 million, but they don’t want to tell us that yet and I’m not sure why.

Secondly, the State is in a very serious mess with the Federal government right now over the way it has funded many of its programs for the past 20 years. The Feds are now demanding major changes that are going to have a profound effect on the social services system in Maine. We can anticipate a series of announcements over the next few weeks in which they will describe major cuts that will directly affect a number of vulnerable groups, including the elderly who require skilled nursing care, foster kids, adults with mental illness and substance abuse problems and others. These cuts are going to mean layoffs in the social service industry which, like it or not, is a major employer in this State.

The situation that they are currently facing is likely the biggest problem that this administration is going to encounter during it’s short 4 years in Augusta. I wish they were being more honest with us about this.
Anonymous

Does anyone have any idea what the bottom line might be?
Anonymous

How would you know what my thought processes are, it just so happens that like minded conservatives are just that, like minded.The truth should not be dismissed as talking points.
The liberals know what is best for all of us, we just need to set back and let them make our choices for us. The rest of us are not as smart as the elitist left. Go back to watching Olbermann and Maddow, no propaganda there, now is there.
Anonymous

Cheapest health insurance premium from anthem for two non-smoking parents in their 30s with two young kids = $1,375.86 / month for a $30,000 family deductible. That’s in Maine. In New Hampshire, the cheapest plan with a max. out of pocket cost of $11,900? $384.27 / month for that same family. MAKE HEALTH COVERAGE AFFORDABLE!!! Maybe, just maybe, it would create less of a burden for MaineCare and will help the economy (who can afford the risk of starting a business if he/she doesn’t have a spouse with good coverage?)!
Anonymous

No one even watches MSNBC, I don’t even get it as part of my dish package. And if you think what you’re being feed is the TRUTH then maybe someone else should be making your choices for you.
Tyke

Actually, generational welfare is most prevalent in the more conservative areas of the state.
Tyke

A woman with absolutely NO management experience was put in charge of a multi billion dollar organization.

Who could have possibly predicted a problem with that?

Her selection is a sign of Lepage’s profound managerial incompetence.
Anonymous

Sad part is that there is no one to replace her with. She got the job by default.
Anonymous

If he handled Marden’s the same way, it’s a wonder that business is still around.

Edit: This was suppose to be a response to Tyke, but the system hiccupped.
Tyke

Here’s a fact that everyone seems to be ignoring.

Revenues may be under budget but they are actually HIGHER than what was collected last year.

Lepage has grown state government so much that even increased revenues are not sufficient to cover his bloated budget.

Baldacci had a lower budget than Lepage.

Why on earth anyone continues to believe this snake oil saleman when he claims to be a “fiscal conservation” is beyond me. He’s spending MORE than Baldacci did!!!
http://twitter.com/TheGuardianMH The Guardian

Strange how we didn’t hear about this until the new governor came along. ???
Anonymous

This department had similar issues in the previous administration. It is long past time for an overhaul.
waynorth1

Let’s keep it simple because the people on welfare normally are, in the head (simple yet street smart). They don’t want to work and never will work. Just read the birth announcements and see how many people are married? They aren’t stupid. Soak it and they get away with it. Got a family member that does it. Wear rings to symbolize something, but soak the system in the meantime for MaineCare benefits. Someone should get out on the street with a clipboard and check out how many of these women are, in fact, alone. God, wish I could pull the migraine headache scam….the only thing that can provide narcotics, that and back pain, get a check, sell the drugs on the street and never lift a finger except calling their dealer. Joke!
Anonymous

Read the article.
No one has a clue.
Too bad.
Anonymous

Astoundingly poorly mismanaged system continues into the red
even with Le Page.
I hope for change.
Anonymous

Actually, it is affordable….for Congress and Legislators. As they are pissin’ about cutting Medicare and state healthcare benefits, they are all, (and their families) receiving taxpayer funded cadillac plans. Cut the public plans only when they abandon their subsidized programs and pay for them themselves!!
Anonymous

Mandatory birth control in the land of the free? Are you kidding me? I think the Taliban is looking for volunteers – perhaps you’d be happier living with other folks who think like you.
Anonymous

Gee – overgeneralize much?
Anonymous

isn’t it, ”fool me twice…….(confused silence)….Won’t get fooled again….hehe” -GWB
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NXPTPFL746OV2VGR5WBOEUF6W4 Roger

The reason it is more expencive in Maine the stupid laws we have. Get the government OUT of the lives of citizens. The same people who complain about the Maine’s expensive insurance also want the government to provide it! It absolutely amazes me how any person with a ounce of common sense would want the government involved in there medical care in any way shape or form.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GHHUASDG7EPJW4XNJBPLPCCHNA Beth Walker

just keep voting to keep jobs out of maine. Drug testing for any public assistance should take care of alot of it. Those who really need this help will be eligable. I have seen the mismanagement first hand. computer errors and bang pay back six months of benefits. over $4.00 a month. welcome to the new state of maine.
Anonymous

“Like minded conservatives” whats that?? code for someone else thinks for me..
Jazz11

Mary had better find the money like she should find her little lamb. Get someone in there that knows what they are doing.
Anonymous

I have the answer they are looking for……………..”Get off of your butts…investigate every single person who has been on welfare longer than 5 years and stop the dang checks from flowing…I am so sick of almost everyone I know in the system who work(s) under the table for many many years and collecting a check and foodstamps every month and get away with it. I have had enough of standing in grocery stores barely able to afford Bologna and watch the ‘Ol Maine card being swiped through the regisdter for Lobster and Shrimp and Soda and chips….ENOUGH already!
Anonymous

Once again DHHS is proving to be out of control. This has nothing to do with the current administration, but instead it is an unwieldy department with no accountability. It is time for a very detailed audit of all programs and spending to better understand how our money is being handled. During the Baldacci regime it was just as bad, missing funds, overspending and lack of fiscal restraint. Time for Mr Poliquin to step in and start digging.
Anonymous

Do they have a *How to draw up a budget for dummies* book someone can send her?
Anonymous

I hope governot lopage and company aren’t actually robbing the Maine DHHS, by looking at the choosen team and their supposed indecisive accounting methods, it sounds to me like they may need an overseer . Better yet I think a people’s veto is in order; this so called governot and his whole obvious corrupted appointed team need to be promptly removed by the citizens of Maine; in order to save whats left of our state.
Anonymous

Mary is far from an “unqualified puppet” as you like to call her. She has many years experience dealing with DHHS through the Maine Hospital Association and took the job with the intention of uncovering the mess and trying to do something about it, before it gets any worse. She has pulled the blinds back and exposed all the “accounting” errors that have piled up over the years. Now she is the villain for telling the truth? Something the previous commissioners have struggled with in the past. She gave up a very comfortable job with the MHA to wade into the biggest hornet’s nest in Maine today to try and help. A couple of interesting facts to be considered before you opine again. Mary is a life long, hardcore Democrat and does not see eye to eye with LePage on many issues, but she does not let that get in the way of doing her job to the best of her abilities. In would not wish that job on my worst enemy, let alone my little cousin. How about helping her out with some solutions or suggestions, as opposed to unabashed attacks and name calling.
Anonymous

As the old Maine saying goes, “Some people don’t know nothin’. These Republicans don’t even suspect somethin’”
Anonymous

Like this is some kind of giant surprise to anyone even remotely connected with health care reimbursement. Not!

Sorry, but the proverbial train has hit the brick wall – those who didn’t see it coming several years ago weren’t paying much attention.

The past administration was just really, really, good at painting a rosy picture.
Anonymous

First prize editorial comment goes to Keenov! Amen!
Anonymous

No, this is what happens when people start legitimately looking at expenditures instead of just continuing to do the same thing they have done in the past with a little extra tacked on. The deeper they dig, they more problems are uncovered.
Anonymous

One way ‘to stop poor people from having more kids than they can support’ is to stop supporting them with taxpayer money. Babies are the key to welfare checks. Stop making them the key and they will stop appearing magically with no fathers.
Anonymous

The welfare problem is not recent. There were the same situations when unemployment was 4 and 5%.
Anonymous

Doesn’t have to be mandatory. If you stop make having kids a way to get benefits, the people looking for benefits will stop having kids.
Anonymous

I don’t think you have your timeline correct. LePage was elected 12 months ago, and did not take office until January. He did not make any appointments until after he was in office, and, although I don’t remember when Mayhew was appointed, I know that she was appointed by LePage. So it has not been nearly 12 months. And DHHS is a murky mess, she will still be uncovering unpleasant information for quite sometime.
Anonymous

Zero based budgeting will be easy compared to trying to sift through the mess that has been foisted on the taxpayers for decades. Everything will have to be justified to get in the new budget. There are going to be lots of pigs squealing out there.
Anonymous

Hope you feel the same about what is going on in Washington.
Anonymous

The difference in how long they have been in office (Obama almost 3 years; LePage almost 1) and what they have done while there (Obama outspend the entirety of the former presidents from Washington; LePage curtail spending) Not that reality matters on BDN.
Anonymous

Ever considered that the legislators accept the information given by the agencies and authorities? We have the head of the MTA hopefully on his way to jail for the actions he took while lying to the legislature. We have the housing authority under scrutiny for their actions. Every authority and every agency will come under the same scrutiny. It will take time, because the waste has been going on and has been covered up for decades. And, some of the ‘waste’ has turned out to be corruption. Keep up the digging, Mary!
Anonymous

It is the digging that is showing up the problems. And, everyone is screaming at the messenger and blaming decades worth of corruption and ineptitude on those who are finding the problems.

I think Mr. Poliquin has charged the heads of agencies with cleaning them up, and the heads of agencies and authorities would be wise to do so before he arrives on the scene.

Forensic accounting is not fast, easy or pretty in its results. The farther they follow each thread, the more they uncover. The federal auditors are not going to be sugar-coating anything, either.
Anonymous

Maybe that’s the difference now, but three years out and I’ll put good money on the LePage administration still trying to figure out where the restrooms are, let alone what the budgets are. Peggy Rotundo ask Buzz Millett a DIRECT question and he said he wasn’t going to give her an answer to spin. Seems like he was evading so that HE COULD SPIN it however HE wanted to. I used to respect Buzz, but he’s sold out to a carpetbagger.
Anonymous

True enough—who in their right mind would want her job?
Anonymous

It’s a catch 22. You can’t stop people from having babies
without fundamentally changing our country. And you can’t deny them welfare
once they have the baby without the baby itself suffering, plus I don’t know
anyone who’s going to deny a little baby the milk that it needs.
Anonymous

“For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.”
Anonymous

I did… That’s my point.
Anonymous

Please tell us when these folks in the LePage adminitstartion will finally be on their own and will no long have the lame excuse of ”cleaning up” after past mistakes. When will they have the courage to stand on thier own and not blame others for their policy debacles?

Give us a date.
Anonymous

Or, go after the fathers who refuse to man up and take care of the children they fathered.
Anonymous

The budget is the budget and it must be balanced. Governor LePoliquin needs to do more than talk tough. It’s his mess now, just like the Bush wars and recession became Obama’s problem. Maybe the “job creators” he idolizes will end their strike and start hiring.
Anonymous

So then what – you let the kids starve?
Mark Felt

she was confirmed Feb 8, 2011. So, if you’re going to be technical, you’re absolutely right! It has not been “nearly 12 months” as I stated. It has been 9 months and 12 days. That is such a far cry from “nearly 12 months”. Unfortunately, you seem to be missing the bigger point that our tax dollars are paying her “nearly $100,000 salary” but she can’t figure out her own budget. (I would say “over $100,000 salaray” but I’m sure you’d question those facts too) Here’s a video from the day she was confirmed. Sounds like those who challenged her were on to something. http://www.wcsh6.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=782278686001 Very interesting!
Anonymous

And you would do what?
Mark Felt

Here’s a video from the day she was confirmed. Sounds like those who challenged her were on to something. http://www.wcsh6.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=782278686001 Very interesting!
MaineExile

Hmmm time to maybe fire a few top dogs that seem to not be doing a very good job..This is one of the reasons the state is where its at..
Anonymous

Hmmm … having people go to work … Is that a new concept? I do not understand we have people sitting home collecting welfare and we have people coming from other countries to pick our broccoli and trim trees along road side…. Really, Why can’t these able bodied people on welfare go to work. DHHS and the State of Maine has made it too easy… Why go to work… when they can stay home have food, shelter, oil, education, a cell phone, have their car fixed, and oh ya internet for 10.00 dollars a month… I say START CUTTING……..
Anonymous

I love it. LePage should have a super committee of his own to balance the budget and find money. You all know how that worked out.
Anonymous

This is where zero based budgeting might have been the tool to use for this budget. If you continue to use incremental budgeting the true amount becomes lost and is costly because you do not know what you are funding and where the potential shorfalls are.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SHNOU64ZBOBIKWUF5IM6WSH7WA entitled4life

Just another mess made by previous liberal governors Baldacci and King that LePage will fix even though the democrats will stand in his way every step of the way. Keep looking Paul, I guarantee there are many more of these stories that will be uncovered. All you can do is fix things as they come your way.
Anonymous

In order to do zero based budgeting one needs to know the purpose of the program, the users of the program, and the associated costs and benefits. The LePage asministration has already said that they don’t know this information, and for whatever reason . I dealt with the State of Maine accounting system for years, and found that so long as you read the right reports, the information was right there in front of your face. What I did find was that most people didn’t want to look at the reports.
Anonymous

Welcome to America…enjoy your stay.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SHNOU64ZBOBIKWUF5IM6WSH7WA entitled4life

Jason:

When the mess from 40 years of mismanagement is cleaned up which will take a few years to fix.The ill advised democrat policy that ruined Maine will take a few years to fix and to regain our footing and become a viable State again but we will get there. In the meantime, relax.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SHNOU64ZBOBIKWUF5IM6WSH7WA entitled4life

Well then, tell us what you would do since you are implying that you do in fact, have a clue.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SHNOU64ZBOBIKWUF5IM6WSH7WA entitled4life

Education does not dare say anything about the previous administration – they bought and paid for them through the big labor unions that actually used to run this State.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SHNOU64ZBOBIKWUF5IM6WSH7WA entitled4life

I read your posts every day and this one is like the pot calling the kettle black.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SHNOU64ZBOBIKWUF5IM6WSH7WA entitled4life

Wah, wah, wah!
Anonymous

Where did I imply that I know what to do????? I haven’t even
seen the DHHS budget, let alone had 10 months to study it!
Anonymous

All she was was a lobbyist for the MHA. That didn’t qualify her for head of DHHS.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SHNOU64ZBOBIKWUF5IM6WSH7WA entitled4life

“Yeah, I don’t think Mary has a clue as to what she is doing.”

Saying that implies that you do have a clue so tell us what it is.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SHNOU64ZBOBIKWUF5IM6WSH7WA entitled4life

I think that they do have a handle on the budget and remember, it is Baldacci’s budget that is in effect, LePage did the supplemental budget which is for the next fiscal year. But forget all about the previous administration. Every single solitary thing that LePage has wanted to change to save money and balance Maine’s budget has been met with total resistance by the democrat party, the party of no. Democrats lie, demagogue, misrepresent, cheat and do whatever is necessary to get Maine people to believe the State will implode if one dollar is cut from the budget and then people like you come along and say LePage doesn’t know what he is doing because golly gee, after a year he should have that budget all taken care of. So dlaurels, what would you cut since you cannot cut retirement costs or benefits, cannot cut welfare, cannot cut education which when taken together, are about 80% of the total of Maine’s budget?
Anonymous

You got it Jim, a land without compassion and forgiveness, it costs too much. Welcome to the 2.0 version of Freedom!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SHNOU64ZBOBIKWUF5IM6WSH7WA entitled4life

You are partly correct, of course but like a true democrat, you do not compare apples to apples. Obama has been in office for 3 years, he had an opportunity to let the Bush tax cuts expire but he actively lobbied to extend them. They are now his tax cuts. He had a chance in the first two years with total democrat control to change some policies of the Bush Administration. He instead chose to ram a health care initiative down our throats that even he does not understand. Now he’s focused on re-election so the country is on hold.

LePage has been in office for 11 months. He is working on correcting past problems. Everything is being met with total democrat resistance. If LePage wants it, democrats do not and that is the philosophy of the entire party. Their only goal is to make sure that LePage is a one termer so that they can get back to letting the Unions (big labor) run the State of Maine.
Anonymous

wish us average folk could get a supplemental budget.
Anonymous

I have little doubt that when LePage and crew are done with our state it will not have fared any better than our federal government under the Bush Regime. After all they’re using the same policies that brought our country to its knees and are expecting a different result, that’s insane.
Anonymous

Yes, Democrats and many Independents opposed many of LePage’s ill-advised policies and his Heritage Foundation agenda……..the voting agenda and on an on. Not very impressed so far.
Anonymous

If you stop make having kids a way to get benefits, the people looking for benefits will stop having kids.

How do you do that? Starve the babies? Take the babies away from the parents? Are you starting to get the picture? It’s a little more difficult than shouting the same talking point over and over, and the path you’re walking down is a very dark and dangerous place.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SHNOU64ZBOBIKWUF5IM6WSH7WA entitled4life

Post some facts to support this.
Anonymous

No it doesn’t! I offered my OPINION that I didn’t think Mayhew new what she was doing. That in no way suggests that I somehow know how to fix the problem. Look I understand the fact that you’re a miserable troll who loves to fight, but don’t put words in my mouth in an attempt to start something. : ( not cool
Anonymous

I know entitled4life, I’m extremely tired of your crying as well.
Anonymous

This is such an easy problem to solve….we need more tax cuts for the rich! I guess the poor and elderly will have to suffer through these tough times. They are tough! We need to make sure those job creators have a nice vacation this year, needing to skimp on nothing. That is the best thing we can do for our less fortunate people, let them see how well the others are doing so they can emulate them.

Seriously, this will only cause the current gang to redouble their efforts. If the rich pay less tax, nothing else matters. The goal is to run government so badly that it becomes useless. If you hear someone run for office and they run on the “evils of government” platform (I mean you Tea Party) you can expect governing to match.

More cuts to basic care are coming. Maine health suffers. Long-term costs for healthcare spiral as a result. If these sick people would just die we could afford another tax break for families with estates worth more than 5 million dollars.
Anonymous

Quit complaining, somewhere on Wall Street there is an investment banker who dreams of another taxpayer bailout so he can get a bonus like the last one. One day, soon, he will.
Anonymous

Oh Carla….you think that is where your hard earned money is going? Have you looked at how much money we spend on welfare for billionaires? Talk about showering the able bodied with a couple of hundred, I am talking billions! Many of the poor on assistance will die without it. The bankers and oilmen are getting a huge piece of that pie. Further, when they lose big, we pay the tab. In one action alone, money was provided to billionaires on Wall Street that equals 40 years of the full cost of TANF. If welfare is costing you too much, why focus on welfare to the poor? The big money is in welfare to the rich.

You are obviously biased against the poor because they take advantage in your estimation. You should really look into the gross abuses that cost so much more. Wasteful military contracting and corporate welfare (subsidies) cost more than all of the medical assistance we provide indigents in this country. Much more.
Anonymous

Better get someone in there that knows how to run the place
Anonymous

This is media programming. People did not talk publicly about hating on the poor in the past. The TV and radio talkers have been programming callousness into the masses. This is not what civilized modern people think by themselves. This is cultivated hatred for the defenseless. In reality, it is a distraction from looking at where the big dollars of waste, fraud and abuse end up, to the rich! When times are tough, this rhetoric is easily spread and accepted.
Anonymous

And saying “market based solutions” are the answer to affordable health care is the plain truth? C’mon. Keep it real.
Anonymous

The estimation formulas are obviously flawed. In reality though, a bad projection has no bearing on actual demand which is high and increasing. Until we get people back to work, this is what will happen.
Anonymous

I so agree, a truly pathetic state.
atruebluedowneaster

I have a great idea one that they used on my grandmother who got welfare for her children way way back in the 30′s or 40′s according to my dad after his dad died…. What she got for money a month she had to account for every dime that she spent and where she spent it when the welfare people came to her house for proof of what she used the money for…. They use to pay everyone that got money a visit once a month and they were held accountable for what they used the money for…My dad quit school and they told her that if he didn’t go back to school she would not receive any more money for him and that he could not live there anymore. My dad moved out and went to work to help his mom out at the age of 16…. I think they need to hold the people accountable once a month for the money they get. I think the DHHS either needs to pay them a visit or make the people come to the office once a month and have to show documentation of what they have spent and where!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SHNOU64ZBOBIKWUF5IM6WSH7WA entitled4life

Miserable troll? Sorry that you are unable to take criticism, only dish it
out. To say that someone does not know what they are doing does imply that you
do whether you want it to or not. If they do not know what they are doing, how
do you know that if you do not know what you are doing as well?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SHNOU64ZBOBIKWUF5IM6WSH7WA entitled4life

Easy does it keenov, I’m only here to irritate people like you, not totally ruin their day which I have obviously done with you.
Anonymous

That is an interesting idea. I don’t know how they could
make monthly visits or process the receipt forms without adding another 20
million to their budget, but your idea does deserve further scrutiny
Anonymous

LOL.agree to disagree
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NXPTPFL746OV2VGR5WBOEUF6W4 Roger

Your right. Nobody is qualified to run such a corrupt and useless organization. I say close it down and put a end to the waste of my tax dollars.
Anonymous

Obviously ; )
Anonymous

Start with LePage’s daughters job !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SHNOU64ZBOBIKWUF5IM6WSH7WA entitled4life

Surprise surprise, I totally agree!
Anonymous

Hey! alright, it’s a start
Anonymous

They can start but not giving people blank checks anymore.
NayaBlues

Government has an obligation to take care of the people. We need to have free health care, education, housing and guaranteed union employment with solid retirement benefits for everyone. If there was a tax on natural resources like gas, oil, water, minerals etc at point of origin we could fund all our social programs. People need to be taken care of, they can’t do it themselves.
Anonymous

Wait just a moment here. Lets get our facts right — the Republicans control the Legislature so it was LePage’s party that kept him under control. And, yes, he put forth a supplemental budget, but that supplemental budget was for the current year, not next year. The Education and Human Services budgets are at least 80% of the entire budget. I have absolutely no problems with cuts to human service programs in line with the federal requirements. I think this state allows people to sit on their fannies and collect more in benefits than they could earn. Also, I think that education costs are out of control because of the poor administration of our school systems. State funding should be cut.
MaineExile

Oh you know it..Take her and him both..
Anonymous

I am not a dentist but I know if someone is attempting to fill a tooth that they do not attempt to get to the tooth by going through the anal opening.
Anonymous

And where exactly in my response did you read anything about “market based solutions”?

Really. Infer much?

For-profits just dream up ‘confidential contracts’ with your provider which allow your provider to receive more than they billed for a service. That way, the insurers get more business, and the providers get to pay their bills because mainecare reimbursements are an absolute joke.

The only way to make health care ‘affordable’ ha ha…is to stop buying into the notion that we’re all gonna die if we have a pimple, or a sniffle, or god forbid – an ache.
Anonymous

Sorry for the lack of context. Gov LePage has stressed that market based solutions are the solution to our health care problems. The dynamics of health care are not governed by ordinary supply and demand. The market is distorted due to moral hazard.

Technology will soon offer a major shift in how health care is delivered. If we embrace this coming shift in the paradigm, we could benefit as a nation. If we hold the course and deny any action to change, we will fall further behind.

Not sure about the mainecare reimbursements being a joke. They have some pretty darned low reimbursement rates and caps. I used to run a health care agency and contracted with DHHS in doing so. I saw treatment reimbursements drop from $200 per patient encounter to under $40 over three years.

I believe the reason for the overruns is twofold. First, higher demand due to economy and second, a very faulty formula to estimate demand. I sure wish they would invite me to fix their formula. I am a whiz at forecasting. :-)
Anonymous

It take a whole lot more to stay in a job than just having the job. But, the first trait one needs in order to look for a job of any kind, is a sense of self-worth, and the faintest glimmer of light that you will be given a chance.

Would you trade places with people who have lost all hope – who do not have your resources, neither economic or social. Would you like believing you had nothing to contribute, even if you do, but no one would give you a real chance. Would you trade places with a ‘deadbeat’ who scams, for the pittance of money and benefits received?

One of the big problems, and this is known in State government, is that the computer systems do not speak to each other, and there are far too many different applications being utilized. Fix that and there will be a big savings. In fact, get rid of the computers and hire people, and then retrain people to communicate with each other.

Also, expenditures for various programs, and perhaps especially those with Federal tie-ins, start running on automatic, whether or not the money is being used efficiently.
Anonymous

I think it is figuring out how the budgets were done before that is the problem, not making a new budget.

I had a job once where the woman I replaced was really angry at losing her position. To ‘prove’ that I would not be able to handle the job (nothing personal, this was during the Vietnam war, she was a WAVE and all males were being moved into forward positions, their jobs filled by female military and civilians being put in those positions) she scheduled appointments for three months out and did not write them all in the schedule book. I filled in the blanks as more requests came in, and about 2 or 3 weeks after I started everything hit the fan. We would have 2 and sometmes 3 many times the people coming in for their scheduled appointments. Some of them would have been waiting for months.

It was a nightmare, and I had no idea what to do to rectify the situation.

While we worked together during my training week and then during the month before she left the area, we became friends and she told me what she had done. It took months before all that damage was behind me.

None of that was my fault or due to my ineptitude. It was a conscious sabotage.

Sometimes, problems are just due to the sloppiness of a former employee, and sometimes there is criminal activity. But, it can take a very long time to clear up. There were decades of chicanery at DHHS.
Mark Felt

Wow, that was a desperate attempt at comparison. Sounds like you need to let go and move on from your bad experience. I won’t bother picking apart how what you said has nothing to do with this situation.

Here is one of the fundamental flaws with this Administration. They are so focused on placing blame that they spend lots of time trying to analyze and undo the past. Be progressive, look forward, try something new! (if they have the capacity, that is)
Anonymous

I am not biased to the poor.. I have been on welfare before… but I wanted more then that, so I got off the couch and went to work… The key word here is WANT.. Life is about wants and needs.. You need Food, Shelter and heat to survive, everthing else is a want .. DHHS just keeps dishing it out.
Anonymous

One thing you can do is have a 5 year life-time span on welfare. That five years is up, you have to have figured out how to take care of yourself. What we have been doing is extending the time every time someone gets pregnant again.

We have plenty of ways of preventing pregnancy. No children need starve. Let mom know that the next kid is not going to be another meal ticket and she will probably find a way not to be pregnant.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_66ZAIIT2G52RMJ2WGCIFREBVZ4 Joe

Kind of like what Obama does with George Bush, right?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_66ZAIIT2G52RMJ2WGCIFREBVZ4 Joe

Yes. Who’s fault would that be? Not yours or mine Bangorian? Please feel free to speak for your own peace of mind not mine.
Tyke

The General Fund -is the fund taken directly from Maine taxpayers. This report comes from Lepage’s own budget bureau:
http://www.maine.gov/budget/filespdfbudgetinfo/4yrforecast/Final%20Sept%202010%20Rev%20Exp%20Forecast.pdf

Page 15 (labeled as page 12 because they skip title pages when they number) :
Baldacci’s last 2 year general fund budget – FY 10 – 11
Total General Fund Appropriations: $5,553.8 Million

Page 16 (numbered as 13):
Lepage’s first 2 year general fund budget – FY 12 – 13
General Fund Projected Appropriations: $6,853.5 Million

The very very badly misnamed “fiscally responsible” Lepage budget increases Maine state taxpayer costs by $1,299,700,700 or stated another way a 23.4% INCREASE!!!!

So there it is Lerpage supporters – the proof that you’ve been had and we all are paying the hugely bloated price tag.
Anonymous

Most people want more than TANF and food stamps provides them. These are safety net programs and as you know, not lifestyle enhancing programs. Reduction of funding of these programs while there are not enough jobs is cruelty. We are better than that as a people.

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