PORTLAND, Maine — Democrat Mike Michaud has decried Republican Gov. Paul LePage's decision to forgo Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Now he's a founding member of the State Medicaid Expansion Caucus.
Michaud, who's running for governor, says the caucus will highlight the need for states that have not yet expanded Medicaid to do so, focusing primarily on the economic impact of expanding insurance to more people.
For Michaud, there's work to be done in his own backyard.
LePage has vetoed proposals to expand Medicaid several times, saying the expansion will be too costly. Michaud, for his part, says failure to expand Medicaid to 70,000 Mainers carries its own cost to the economy.