Everyone needs access to good quality health care that covers dental, mental health, and substance use disorder supports and services. Working together across our many different backgrounds, we can advance new policy solutions to close the gaps that still exist in our healthcare system.
Health care is at the heart of many of the changes we need to make to create real equity and opportunity in Maine. When Maine adults get care, more Maine kids do too, and whole families can be healthier generation to generation.
We will not stop until affordable health care is a reality for ALL Mainers, including our family, friends, and neighbors who are immigrants. We envision a world where everyone can get the care they need when they need it and differences in health outcomes because of racial discrimination are eliminated. In the Maine Legislature or in Washington, D.C., we champion solutions that recognize an individual’s right to coverage regardless of income, where they live or where they came from.
Many immigrants in Maine who have low incomes can’t get access to MaineCare because of their current immigration status. For many, the only coverage they can currently access is emergency MaineCare, which is extremely limited. Because of this discriminatory policy, many of our family, friends, and neighbors who are immigrants in Maine go without life-saving medication, screenings, and treatments.
In 2021, Maine Equal Justice worked to pass a bill that would ensure everyone with low income can access MaineCare, including all immigrants. Legislators heard stories from people without health care, health care providers, school staff, faith leaders, social workers, and many others describing the many ways our family, friends, and neighbors who are immigrants struggle without health care. Ultimately, part of the bill passed and was signed into law, expanding access to MaineCare and CHIP for people under 21 and pregnant people, regardless of their immigration status. Despite this significant win, many income-eligible adults and elders were left out. The fight to remove exclusions to the MaineCare program based on immigration status continues in the 131st legislative session!
In 2021, with strong support from the Legislature and the Governor, Maine finally enacted a comprehensive adult dental benefit for our MaineCare program. The big driver of this success is Maine people, who showed up again and again to share their stories and inspire lawmakers to take action. As of July, 2022, more than 200,000 adults have access to a full dental benefit through MaineCare, and Maine should generate an estimated economic return of $21.6 million each year.
Maine faces a shortage of dental professionals, and many people are waiting to find a provider. We continue to work together with MaineCare members, the State of Maine, and dental professionals to make sure the rollout of the new dental benefit is successful.
Maine Equal Justice helped lead a coalition of Maine people, organizations, and businesses in a first-in-the-nation fight to pass Medicaid expansion by ballot. We also led a lawsuit against former Governor Paul LePage to implement the law. On her first day in office, Gov. Janet Mills signed an executive order to bring health care to more than 70,000 people.
Since its launch, voter-passed Medicaid expansion has helped more than 134,000 residents of Maine and as of 2021, the percentage of people in Maine without insurance is at a historic low (5.7%).
Maine Equal Justice focuses its work on many of the issues that affect people’s daily lives – access to adequate health care, housing, transportation and childcare; food and income security; and higher education and training. Maine Equal Justice is a 501 c 3 nonprofit organization. Our EIN is 04-3346273.
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© Maine Equal Justice
126 Sewall Street
Augusta ME 04330 (Map)
Toll-free: 1-866-626-7059
FAX: 207-621-8148
