Gov. Paul LePage is coming out hard against Question 1 on Maine's November ballot. The citizen referendum aims to provide aid for in-home health care services for elderly and disabled Mainers that would be funded with a new 3.8 percent tax on high earners. In a radio address LePage said the proposal will drive people with high incomes out of the state, and he outlined what he sees as its other failings.
"It will create a new, massive bureaucracy with no state oversight, and it will put people on waitlists. It will also violate patient confidentiality, and will it hurt our economy."
Supporters say the referendum applies only to the wealthiest 1.6 percent of Mainers. They argue the proposal is a necessary fix to supporting affordable home-based care while healthcare costs rise for Maine’s aging population.