The U.S. House is expected to vote today on the GOP tax overhaul plan. The plan is drawing the ire of senior advocacy groups who say that a significant portion of Maine's population would see costs go up.
More than 23 percent of Mainers receive benefits through Medicare - that's more than 300,000 people. Senior advocates say, for those folks, there's little to like in the Republican House tax plan.
"The more people find out what's in this bill, the more they're going to oppose this," says Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
Richtman says he thinks the plan is being "rushed" through to keep people from discovering its flaws. One of those flaws, he says, is that it would add more than a trillion dollars to the deficit.
And what happens after that is bad news for programs like Medicare, he says. "There are some reductions that are automatic. It's called PAYGO."
The so-called PAYGO rule basically dictates that legislation passed must not add to the deficit without triggering mandatory spending cuts to offset the debt increase. Medicare could see as much as a 4 percent reduction in funds right away says Richtman - or $25 billion.
The threat to Medicare is just one of several issues senior advocates have with the plan. Lori Parham, state director of AARP Maine says the plan ends several tax deductions for medical expenses, used primarily by seniors.
"Nearly three-quarters of tax filers who claim the medical expense deduction are age 50 or older," Parham says. "And these are individuals that live with a chronic condition or illness, and so we feel nobody should face a big tax increase simply because they have high medical costs."
Maine 1st District Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat, says should the plan go through she fears a lot of Mainers will find themselves worse off.
"Given that Maine is one of the oldest states in the nation, we have more more seniors than everyone else proportionally," Pingree says, "and we're really going to feel that pain."
Pingree says she will not be voting for the bill. Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin, who represents Maine's 2nd District, did not respond to Maine Public Radio's requests for comment by airtime, but he announced on Tuesday that, while not perfect, the GOP plan simplifies the federal tax code, will benefit middle class Mainers, and that he plans to vote in favor of it.
