AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage issued another veto on Tuesday, this time of a Republican-sponsored bill designed to address how schools receive federal funds for certain medical services.
LD 1003, sponsored by Rep. Peter Edgecomb, R-Caribou, would have directed the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services to work together with an interagency stakeholder group to refine existing MaineCare policies.
The group would have been asked to develop new policies or prepare guidance on billing procedures to “ensure the provision of medically necessary services to students in school-based settings.”
Any suggestions for amendments to MaineCare rules regarding such services, which were not explicitly defined in the bill, would have been due by the summer.
LePage said LD 1003 would distract the Department of Health and Human Services from continuing to find solutions to the state’s ongoing MaineCare problems and he worried about the bill’s potential cost.
“I have strong objections to the Legislature directing efforts of the executive branch without providing funding for that purpose,” he wrote. “Especially when my departments are already working tirelessly on these issues.
“Another problem with this resolve is that it attempts to force action before we have all the facts. The federal inspector general is currently undertaking an audit of our school-based MaineCare service program and it is unclear what their findings will be. It is possible that we will be required to repay the federal government for past misuses of funds.”
The governor also said he has concerns about continuing to rely on federal funds. If the state does so, “we need to understand all the details up front and make sure we do not leave future taxpayers with huge bills to pay from audit findings,” his veto letter read. “We cannot lose our sense simply because there is a promise of a big check.”
LD 1003 bill passed through the House and Senate last month under the hammer, which means there was no debate or roll-call vote. In order to override a veto, two-thirds of House members need to support the bill.
This is the governor’s second veto in the last few days. Last Friday, the governor vetoed LD 145, a bill that sought to protect homeowners during foreclosure proceedings, because he said it would put more burden on banks.
The House sustained the governor’s veto on Monday. Since he took office, the Republican-controlled legislature has upheld all 16 of LePage’s vetoes.
Follow BDN reporter Eric Russell on Twitter @BDNPolitics.
Election time approaches. Watch as the bugs react to the light of the voters. Instead of marching in lockstep with a notoriously unpopular governor, they will begin to distance themselves increasingly. In the coming weeks you will see more vetos as they make a hard turn to focus on issues and concerns of “the people” and away from the vested interests of the monied few.
Watch the metamorphosis of hardline R’s into moderate D’s and tell me how human behavior differs from the insect world.
You may be surprised by the support this “notoriously unpopular” Governor gets in 2014. There’s a lot of people out there that aren’t whining about him on sites like this and appreciate someone that’s not afraid to to say where the bear goes in the buckwheat.
Nah. only those in the bubble think LePage could win an election with significant turn out. The turn out will be large to unseat this bully.
LePage vetoed a Republican sponsored bill? I always thought the GOP guys hung tough together. Maybe LePage just got carried away on a veto roll.
He had too much sun in Jamaica.
Holy cow !!!! Paulie for once got ahead of the problem and literally ‘choked the chicken’s head’ before it could get anymore outta control. As much as I am not a fan of Paulie, this time he got it dead right the first time. More so since he declared that no one’s gonna poop in his yard unless they bring the pooper scooper to clean it up. And given Edgecomb’s try for a shot at Blaine House, well, he just got his keester shot off by the current resident. One wonders where Nutting and Raye were while this was going on ? These last days of the Legislative sesson are always fun. Now, on with the show ……….
Gotta disagree. Edgecomb’s bill was a good one. DOE and DHHS have been unhelpful to school districts since before the current administration, and LD 1003 was needed to force the issue and relieve the burden on the Maine taxpayer. There are tens of millions of dollars at stake, and this bill does *not* force any bad decisions. It just forces the depts to seriously consider smarter options for how school districts can bill MaineCare for services that are Medicaid-reimbursable.
Wow I am amazed! Someone needs to take his temperature to make sure he is ok.
And as of this comment, (and not yet reported by BDN), the House has found their backbones and has overridden this Veto. Now the question is, will the Senate do likewise?
GOD has spoken.
Come back with a better bill and he will sign it.
viptoshopper.com