Senate advances supplemental budget with MaineCare and spruce budworm funding after defeat of COLA amendment

The Maine Senate on Tuesday advanced LD 209, a supplemental budget intended to cover urgent needs for the remainder of the fiscal year, voting 20-14 to accept the Appropriations Committee report and to adopt Committee Amendment A and give the bill a second reading by title only.

The vote moves a streamlined emergency package forward that backstops MaineCare provider payments and directs emergency funds to spruce budworm remediation. ‘‘This responsible budget simply pays our bills for the remainder of the fiscal year and includes language that reflects our commitment to finding common ground with our Republican colleagues on issues that are important to all of us,’’ said Senator Rotundo (Androscoggin), chair of the Appropriations Committee.

Why it matters: Appropriators said the supplemental contains roughly $118 million in state general funds that will leverage an estimated $296 million in federal matching funds — about $414 million in total — to keep MaineCare payments flowing. The Department of Health and Human Services warned that, absent prompt legislative action, some provider payments would be temporarily withheld starting in March. The budget also includes $2 million in state funds to participate in a broader $15 million effort to combat an emerging spruce budworm outbreak, an item proponents said could avert large-scale forest and economic losses.

Debate and amendments: The floor debate was sharply partisan and procedural. Senator Stewart (Aroostook) argued that the supplemental had been rushed and repeatedly criticized the process that produced the committee report, saying ‘‘we shouldn't have even been there. We could have come back the next morning when everybody could be in attendance,’’ and urging a recommittal to Appropriations. A motion to recommit the bill to the Appropriations Committee failed, 14-20.

Senator Moore (Washington) offered Senate Amendment A (S-1) to restore a 1.95% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for direct care workers, saying the increase was required by statute and that the department had not submitted needed paperwork to obtain federal approval. ‘‘As you can see, time is of the essence,’’ Moore said when presenting the amendment. The amendment failed on the floor, 16-18.

Other amendments debated included a proposal to commission an audit of MaineCare implementation (Senate Amendment B, offered by Senator Martin of Oxford), an audit and process review amendment focused on compliance, and measures that would impose work or enrollment limits on parts of the expanded Medicaid population (Senate Amendments C and D). Several of those motions were the subject of roll-call votes or motions to postpone; at least one audit-related amendment was indefinitely postponed by a 20-14 vote. Senators in favor of the broader package argued that the supplemental had been pared down to true emergencies so the Legislature could move quickly and then address longer-term policy changes in the upcoming biennial budget.

Voices on the floor reflected the stakes: ‘‘The vast majority of the spending in this budget is to make sure that MaineCare providers across Maine will continue to get paid,’’ said Senator Rotundo. Senator Ingersoll (York), chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, framed the proposal as protecting hospitals, nursing homes and behavioral health providers, saying delayed payments could force some providers to close. Republicans and some independents pressed for more structural fixes to MaineCare and for restoring changes to general assistance; they also criticized late-night negotiating and said a broader, bipartisan deal was still possible.

Votes at a glance: The Senate accepted the Appropriations Committee report and adopted Committee Amendment A, 20-14. A motion to recommit LD 209 to Appropriations failed, 14-20. Senate Amendment A (1.95% COLA for direct care workers) was defeated, 16-18. Other floor amendments (including audit and work/enrollment-related measures) were debated; at least one audit amendment was indefinitely postponed by a 20-14 vote. Committee Amendment A was adopted on a 20-14 vote and the bill was given a second reading by title only.

What’s next: With Committee Amendment A adopted, LD 209 received a second reading by title only on the Senate floor and will proceed according to legislative rules for concurrence with the House. Sponsors said the package was limited to emergency needs so the Legislature can tackle more complex policy reforms — including long-term options for MaineCare solvency and general assistance — in the biennial budgeting process.

The Senate debate illustrated the procedural friction that will shape the biennial budget work ahead: members emphasized the urgency of keeping providers paid while also warning that larger structural fixes remain unresolved.