AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine lawmakers gave final approval on Thursday to a plan to renegotiate the state's liquor contract to pay its hospitals' years-old debt of hundreds of millions of dollars for Medicaid services — one of Gov. Paul LePage's top priorities.
Lawmakers in the House and Senate unanimously approved the bill, which no longer is tied to a proposal to expand Medicaid to 70,000 Mainers. Its passage is a major victory for the Republican governor working with Democratic majorities in both chambers.
"Our hospitals are key to the health of our community, and this final payment makes good on the lifesaving work that our nurses and doctors do for Maine families," said Rep. Margaret Rotundo, a Lewiston Democrat. "Paying back the hospitals is not a partisan issue, and I strongly suspect that all of us are very pleased to be able to vote affirmatively in support of our hospitals today," she said.
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