Groups rally to oppose LePage budget cuts [View All]

[Maine-ah]

Source: BDN

AUGUSTA, Maine — Immigrants, advocates for the elderly and organizations working on behalf of low-income Mainers held a rally Wednesday morning to urge lawmakers to resist Gov. Paul LePage’s latest changes to the proposed 2-year budget.

Speakers criticized LePage administration proposals that would remove roughly 28,000 individuals from the MaineCare rolls, make it more difficult for some families to receive general assistance and reduce funding for programs that help the elderly pay for Medicare programs.

“The net result will be people not going to see their doctor, not taking their prescriptions” and potentially ending up in the emergency room, said Dick Farnsworth, a volunteer with AARP in Maine.

The governor’s latest budget proposal would also limit access to MaineCare, food stamps and other assistance programs to legal immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for less than five years.

Read more: http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/05/11/politics/groups-rally-to-oppose-lepage-budget-cuts/