Every day at work I see people who are challenged by their lack of health insurance. Whether at Lincoln County Dental, where I am the executive director, or at the Addiction Outreach Program, where I am the part-time director, our clients’ lives are affected by the struggle to find affordable healthcare.

This has an impact on all of us. Problems such as the lack of affordable dental care and the high cost of treatment for addiction keep people from becoming the contributing members of society they would like to be. In order to hold down a good job, a person needs to be in good health. If they were able to access needed healthcare instead of being forced to rely on charity and public assistance, our clients would become tax-paying members of the community.

I believe that everyone deserves healthcare. That’s why I endorse the idea of universal health insurance. We already pay for it. People who can’t afford insurance premiums or high deductibles are forced to put off caring for treatable medical problems. In Maine, one in five low-income people delays seeing a doctor because of cost. These treatable ailments can turn into life-threatening, expensive, medical emergencies. The result is that all too often patients are financially wiped out, and we taxpayers end up footing the bill. Our hospitals can’t turn people away for lack of ability to pay, so it affects their bottom lines as well. We all end up paying in various ways. Don’t you agree that it would make better sense if we all paid a fair amount that allowed for everyone to have quality insurance coverage—for dental, mental, and physical health—from birth, greatly diminishing the incidence of high cost emergency care?

The Affordable Care Act has been a help to many Mainers whose employers don’t offer health insurance coverage. It’s a start. But we have far to go in terms of strengthening our healthcare system in the state. One obvious positive change would be expanding Medicaid for the more than 80,000 Mainers who make less than $16,700 a year, most of whom are working part-time or seasonally in low-wage jobs. In 2017, a majority of my fellow voters in the Boothbay Region joined voters in the rest of the state to endorse the expansion of Medicaid. Passing this by citizen initiative was a last-ditch effort by frustrated voters. We had watched the Legislature pass a similar measure by a bi-partisan majority five times, only to be vetoed each time by Governor LePage.

Sadly, the governor has once again vetoed funding for the measure, even though Medicaid Expansion is now law. And once again, although the vote was 85 to 60 to override his veto, legislators who support the Medicaid Expansion couldn’t come up with the necessary two-thirds majority.

My opponent was one of the legislators who voted to uphold the governor’s veto this past July, as she had each of the previous five times. I believe this reflects a fundamental difference in how we think about healthcare: I think that by working together and pooling resources, we all can help those who need it most, so that they in turn can be the healthy and productive.

Presently, without Medicaid Expansion in place, our local health care provider, LincolnHealth, is required by law to cover the costs of care for patients who cannot afford health insurance. The lack of Medicaid expansion is hurting Maine’s hospitals; each year they have incurred approximately $250 million in uncompensated care.

LincolnHealth is the largest single employer in this county. It is imperative that we ensure that the health care jobs remain in place—our local economy depends on it. Medicaid Expansion will help us stabilize our health care system and keep local people working at the St. Andrews and Miles campuses.

Some say that the cost of these new additions to Medicaid is too much for the state budget. But in real numbers, the state needs to pay 15 percent or less than $100 million to match the federal 85 percent or $500 million to pay for healthcare. It is estimated that Maine will receive $450 to $550 million each year under Medicaid Expansion. As you can see, this is a great deal that we’re turning down!

A healthy community has many benefits for all of us. I’ve already mentioned the benefit of returning people to tax-paying members of the community helping to support the schools, public safety, and other community aspects we all use and enjoy. As a lifelong Boothbay resident, I firmly believe in the adage, “A rising tide floats all boats.” When residents are healthy, they can fill local jobs, spend money at local stores, and contribute in many ways to their community. A healthy population is the foundation of a healthy economy.