Today, the Commonwealth Fund released a report showing Maine’s health care system performed better than almost every other state in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report praised Maine’s vaccination program, and noted improvements under Governor Mills in access to and quality of care, both of which were expanded and improved by her administration.
The report comes as Paul LePage is doubling down on the destructive health care policies of his eight years in office, including saying that Medicaid expansion is “bad for everyone.” When LePage was in the Blaine House, he blocked health coverage for more than 90,000 Mainers and decimated Maine’s public health infrastructure. Now, after Mills expanded MaineCare and revitalized the state’s public health infrastructure just in time to lead one of the strongest pandemic responses in the nation, LePage is actively campaigning on tearing down all that progress.
“Because of Governor Mills, Maine’s health care system has gotten stronger and care has become more accessible, and as a result we had one of the best COVID responses in the nation,” said Drew Gattine, Chair of the Maine Democratic Party. “It wasn’t always this way—under Paul LePage, the administration fought tooth and nail to make it harder for Mainers to get the care they needed. With LePage back on the scene, the progress we’ve made under Governor Mills—not to mention the health and safety of Maine people—is at risk.”