美国国家公共电台 NPR After Maine Voters Approve Medicaid Expansion, Governor Raises Objections

After Maine Voters Approve Medicaid Expansion, Governor Raises Objections

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

For the first time, the question of whether to expand Medicaid in a state was put to voters. That happened yesterday in Maine, and the measure was overwhelmingly approved. Maine Public Radio's Patty Wight reports on why it ended up on the ballot¹ and the challenge in putting the expansion in place.

PATTY WIGHT, BYLINE²: The main legislature passed bills to expand Medicaid five times only to be vetoed by Governor Paul LePage in each instance. That prompted Robyn Merrill, co-chair of the coalition³ Mainers for Health Care, to take the matter to the ballot box, and the strategy worked.

ROBYN MERRILL: We did it.

(CHEERING)

WIGHT: Merrill and referendum supporters were thrilled for the victory and for the history Maine made on Tuesday as the first state to expand Medicaid through a citizens' initiative.

MERRILL: Maine is sending a strong and weighty message to politicians in Augusta and across the country. We need more affordable⁴ health care, not less.

WIGHT: Maine is poised⁵ to join the 31 states and the District of Columbia that have already expanded Medicaid. It will cover adults with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. That's about $16,000 for an individual. Currently, people in Maine within that income bracket fall into a coverage⁶ gap. They earn too much to qualify for subsidies⁷ under the ACA and too little to afford insurance on their own. Kathleen Phelps, a hairdresser from Waterville who has emphysema and COPD, is one of those people.

KATHLEEN PHELPS: Finally, finally, finally - maybe now people like myself can get the health care we need.

WIGHT: Phelps is uninsured and says she's had to go without medication and oxygen she needs.

PHELPS: I will have oxygen back in my home and I'll sleep good at night.

WIGHT: Medicaid expansion is also a win for hospitals. More than half in Maine are operating in the red, and across the state, they provide more than $100 million a year in charity care, according to the Maine Hospital Association. Expanding coverage will restore some fiscal⁸ health and give doctors and nurses more options to treat their formerly⁹ uninsured patients, says Jeff Austin with the association.

JEFF AUSTIN: From recommending a prescription¹⁰ drug or seeing a counselor¹¹, you know, doors that were closed previously¹² will now be open.

WIGHT: But voter approval may not be enough. Though a legislative¹³ budget analysis office estimates Medicaid expansion would inject about a half-billion federal dollars into Maine per year, it will also cost the state about $50 million a year. Tuesday morning, Governor LePage announced he would not implement¹⁴ expansion unless the legislature fully¹⁵ funds it without raising taxes or using the state's rainy day fund.

PAUL LEPAGE: Give me the money and I will enforce the referendum.

WIGHT: State Democratic leaders, meanwhile, vow¹⁶ to deliver on the people's will. As the battle begins over implementation¹⁷, other states will be watching. Groups in Idaho and Utah are trying to put Medicaid expansion on their state ballots¹⁸ next year. For NPR News, I'm Patty Wight in Lewiston, Maine.

MCEVERS: This story is part of a reporting partnership¹⁹ with NPR, local member stations and Kaiser Health News.

1 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

5 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

6 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

7 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

9 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

10 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

11 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

12 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

13 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

14 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

15 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

16 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

17 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

18 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。