What is Medicaid?
Medicaid provides free or low-cost health insurance and other health benefits to people who qualify based on income and household size, disability, age, and/or citizenship status. The program is jointly funded by the federal and state governments. In Maine, we call our Medicaid program "MaineCare."
July 30, 2025, marked the 60th anniversary of Medicaid, which was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. This milestone offers an opportunity to reflect on Medicaid’s key achievements and its impact on Maine over the past six decades.
1965 -- Medicaid is signed into law on July 30, 1965, by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
1967 -- Congress introduced EPSDT (Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment) to ensure that children under 21 enrolled in Medicaid receive age-appropriate screening, preventive care, and treatment services.
1986 -- The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act was established, requiring hospital emergency departments to treat every patient, regardless of their health insurance status or ability to pay.
1989 -- Medicaid coverage expands to include pregnant women and children under 6 in families with an income up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL).
1990 -- Medicaid coverage expands
- Medicaid coverage expands to include children ages 6-18 under 100 percent of FPL.
- The Medicaid Drug Rebate Program is created, which ensures Medicaid receives the lowest price available for all prescription drugs.
1997 -- CHIP was created, providing states with enhanced federal financing to offer healthcare coverage to eligible low-income uninsured children under 18 and pregnant women whose income is too high to qualify for Medicaid.
2002 -- Maine branded Medicaid as MaineCare.
2010 -- President Barack Obama signs the Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010, creating consumer protections in health coverage and expanding access to affordable health coverage nationwide.
2014 -- The Affordable Care Act expanded Medicaid to increase eligibility for adults aged 18-64 with household incomes up to 138 percent of FPL.
2017 -- Maine voters approved a referendum to expand MaineCare to cover more Mainers with lower incomes, the first state to expand its Medicaid program via a citizens' referendum.
2019 -- Governor Janet Mills signs an executive order expanding MaineCare, allowing over 130,000 Mainers to access healthcare and bringing in over $1.4 billion in federal funding.
2022 -- MaineCare expands access to coverage for several groups:
- Dental coverage for adults over 21
- MaineCare eligibility for pregnant women, regardless of citizenship
- Postpartum coverage increased to 12 months after birth
2023 -- MaineCare eligibility for children and young adults under 21 was expanded to include family incomes up to 300% of FPL. MaineCare also eliminated most premiums for children's coverage.
MaineCare Enrollment
Today, about 400,000 Mainers are enrolled in MaineCare, approximately 30% of all Mainers. Coverage is higher among children under 18 years old: MaineCare provides health insurance to more than 50% of Maine's children. This varies by county; 40% of children in York County have MaineCare, compared to 75% in Washington County.
MaineCare members represent a diverse population. They live throughout the state in both urban and rural areas, are of many races and ethnicities. MaineCare's impact reaches far and wide and helps to ensure that all Maine people are able to access the critical health services, both preventative and emergency, that enable them to live healthy, safe, and resilient lives.
MaineCare enrollment has changed over the years as referenced in the below graph, often aligning with changing federal and state policies. Over many years, as MaineCare enrollment increased, the uninsured rates in Maine decreased, which highlights the importance of MaineCare in connecting individuals to health insurance coverage.
Proud to Serve our Members
In honor of MaineCare, and more importantly, the Mainers receiving coverage through MaineCare, we wanted to highlight a MaineCare member's lived experience. A resident of Westbrook, whose children receive MaineCare coverage, shared their family's story with us to help illustrate the impacts MaineCare, and health insurance coverage, can have on real life circumstances.
"When we moved to Maine, our whole family received health insurance through my husband's job. We didn't apply for MaineCare because we thought we wouldn't qualify. Then in April 2024, our lives changed. Our three-year-old daughter, who was vibrant and healthy, suddenly woke up one morning unable to move the right side of her body. She couldn't walk straight, and she couldn't move her hand. We rushed her to the emergency room, and after testing, we received the devastating news that she had a rare form of brain cancer called Astroblastoma.
She had to undergo multiple tests, a biopsy, and eventually three brain surgeries--one in Maine and two more at the Children's Hospital in Boston. The bills started coming in, and even though our primary insurance covered some of the costs, we were left with very large medical expenses that were difficult to manage.
A friend told me that MaineCare had changed its guidelines for children and suggested I apply. I did, and to my relief, my children were approved. MaineCare became our secondary insurance and covered the remaining medical costs. We were also able to use the Non-Emergency Transportation (NET) service through MaineCare, which allowed us to travel to and from Boston for her surgeries and radiation treatments. MaineCare made a huge difference for our family during this very difficult time.
MaineCare has taken away so much of the stress and worry about how we would pay for our daughter's medical care. It also gave us access to transportation. My daughter needs many things because of her diagnosis--like MRIs, medicine, rides to out-of-state doctors, physical therapy, radiation treatments and surgeries. It's a big relief that MaineCare covers what our main insurance doesn't." - MaineCare Member of Westbrook, ME
Like our member story shared here, you may be surprised to find out if your family qualifies for MaineCare. Ready to apply or to see if you may be eligible for MaineCare? Apply online at MyMaineConnection.gov or go to the Office for Family Independence (OFI) webpage for more options.
MaineCare coverage can look different depending on a household's eligibility and needs. We're proud to serve as Maine's Medicaid program, and to help our neighbors and community members access needed healthcare every day.