LePage won’t ‘lift a finger’ to set up Maine’s health insurance exchange

[bluedigger]

Source: Bangor Daily News

AUGUSTA — Maine will let the federal government take the reins on setting up a mandated online health insurance market, according to comments Gov. Paul LePage made Thursday to a national news outlet.

States must decide whether to set up the markets, called exchanges, or let the federal government step in to do it for them. The exchanges, online markets where consumers can buy coverage beginning next October, are a key component of President Barack Obama’s health reform law that aims to widen coverage to 30 million people.

LePage told Bloomberg news Thursday that he has no plans to set up an exchange in Maine.

“I’m not lifting a finger,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg at a Republican Governors Association meeting in Las Vegas. “We’re not going to get involved. We’re going to let Mr. Obama do a federal exchange. It’s his bill.”

Read more: http://www.sunjournal.com/news/maine/2012/11/16/lepage-won-t-lift-finger-set-maine-s-health-insura/1281876

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If I understand the big picture correctly, won't more states opting into the Fed plan strengthen it?

[LoisB]

1. Read "I'm not lifting a finger to help the people of my state". What a jerk!

[HereSince1628]

6. It's an easy position to take...anything and everything disliked about it will be Obama's fault

and if nobody finds anything wrong with the federal plan, the governor walks away unharmed.

[SharonAnn]

2. "Mr. Obama"? How about "President Obama"?

How disrespectful.

[bluedigger]

5. I'm so used to the disrespect I didn't even notice that.

[Cha]

11. Speaking of "disrespectful".. Le Page is the one who said he'd tell "Obama to go to hell"

Maine Republican Paul LePage says he’ll have a fiery message for President Obama if he’s elected governor: “Go to hell.”

The GOP nominee’s comments surfaced on Dirigo Blue, a left-leaning Maine blog Tuesday. The video captured the Waterville mayor taking questions from a group of fisherman at a Republican forum who told him that financial regulations were driving them to poverty.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42886.html

And, he was the one who took down the Labor Mural..

A decision by Gov. Paul LePage to remove a mural at the Department of Labor and to rename several conference rooms that honor national and local labor leaders has outraged everyone from union activists and the Maine Democratic Party to the director of the Frances Perkins Center in Newcastle. A spokesman for the governor says the decision is intended to make everyone feel welcome when they walk through the door. But the artist who planned the mural says it only depicts historical facts.

http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3478/ItemId/15719/Default.aspx

I hope Maine gets rid of the guy in 2014

[Gormy Cuss]

3. Two more years

and this clown goes into the dustpan of history.

[rtassi]

7. Yep ... and he has to know that by now ...

[LynneSin]

4. Well I think this election we've learned the key to electing someone statewide in Maine

If there is a good independent-progressive candidate on the ballot then don't fuck it up with a democrat.

I think if the dems hadn't pushed their candidate as hard in the state then Eliot Cutler would have won the election. He was only about 20k votes behind LePage and between Cutter and democrat votes combined was more than 80K votes.

LePage won by 38% of the vote and has done his best to fuck up the other 62% of the state.

[MADem]

18. Fair point, that. nt

[malachi]

8. The fine folks in Maine should be very pleased

that this hump will not be involved.

[drm604]

9. All of the Republican, "state's rights" guys are handing the reigns over to the feds on this.

[AllyCat]

13. Just saw your post. Said something similar downstream.

Seriously...what happened to the "local control" mantra they've been spewing for decades?

[thelordofhell]

10. When did the states turn into the old man from A Christmas Story??

[AllyCat]

12. So he's joining Scott Walker in this little tantrum?

So much for "States' Rights" Republicans. Whatever. Just keep it up and pretty soon the Feds will do it all for you guys (and us) and eventually, we will have universal health care.

[PerceptionManagement]

15. Good for the rubes in those red states.

The Gov't exchange will offer better than what LePage and Walker would have. If Walker and LePage really wanted to screw their own, they'd set up crummy state exchanges with minimal gifts, er ah, benefits.

[davidthegnome]

14. He is such an ass.

Ugh. Much as I normally love Maine (I was born and raised here) I still have a hard time with the fact that we voted for this pig. Of course, if the vote hadn't been divided so closely between three candidates, we wouldn't have.

No, he won't lift a finger to do anything to help people. Two more years... then he's gone - no way in hell Maine would vote to re-elect him.

[high density]

16. So Republicans like states rights or not?

I am always confused.

[MADem]

17. Cut off nose, spite face! He'll be sorry, but who cares--he's an ass. nt

[fascisthunter]

19. poor widdle fascist nutcase

[rucky]

20. Seems when these States Righters have the chance

for more state control, they prefer to lean on the federal government.

[FarCenter]

21. What is the advantage to a state for setting up a health insurance exchange?

If the Federal government will do it, why should a state do it?

Why should Democrats prefer that states do it?