The first session of the 126th legislature is nearly completed, and in the last six months we have succeeded in tackling many issues important to the people of Maine. We passed a bipartisan responsible budget and a first-of-its-kind workforce development bill to address the skills gap.

We are keeping our public schools strong, and reducing energy costs for Maine families. And we passed a GMO labeling bill so consumers will have the right to know what is in their food.

This week, I want to talk about progress in our fight to expand healthcare coverage for Mainers. Although we did not win this initial round, we have raised awareness of the issue, moved the discussion beyond partisan ideology, and laid the groundwork for future success.

Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government offered Maine a tremendous deal: we could provide health insurance to 70,000 working Mainers, for free, for three years. After that, the federal government would pay no less than 90 percent of the cost.

Maine was projected to save $690 million in the next 10 years if it accepted the federal dollars, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Foundation and the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Maine is also one of 10 states that would have seen our own Medicaid expenditures go down over the next 10 years.

Accepting this deal would also have created needed jobs here in Maine, including 124 right here in Lincoln County, as well as $9.6 million in annual investments in our county over the next ten years.

Most importantly, many of us felt this was morally the right thing to do. I believe healthcare is a human right. No one should be denied access to needed care, certainly not in a country as prosperous as ours.

Too many of our neighbors are one illness or injury away from financial ruin. Too many families do not have access to a family doctor, and are forced to go to the Emergency Room for care. And too many of our friends are working long hours at jobs that just do not provide health insurance.

Accepting the deal would have addressed many of these issues. We could have provided needed healthcare to 70,000 people. We could have saved money and created jobs. We could have injected millions of investment dollars into our state. And we could have expanded access to preventive care which we all agree is necessary to manage healthcare costs.

Unfortunately, not enough lawmakers saw the merits of this deal. After the governor vetoed the bill, we did not have the necessary two-thirds votes to override his veto.

But we will not be defeated.

Healthcare is one of the most critically important issues facing our state, and our country, which is why we will continue our efforts to ensure every Mainer has access to the care they need when they need it.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced before a special joint session of Congress the dramatic and ambitious goal of sending an American safely to the moon before the end of the decade. This nation met that goal. Surely we can achieve in a lesser time frame something as essential to life and the pursuit of happiness as healthcare for our people.

So we will keep talking about the importance of healthcare for all, we will keep fighting for affordable, accessible healthcare, and we will continue to explore ways to leverage federal funds to expand access to healthcare, as other states have done for their people. These too are achievable goals.

Sen. Christopher Johnson lives in Somerville, and represents Maine Senate District 20