AUGUSTA - Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, will host a virtual press conference to announce new legislation, LD 718, a bill to close gaps in MaineCare and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), on Thursday, April 15 at 9:00 a.m. She will be joined by Crystal Cron, president of Presente Maine, an advocacy group for the Latinx community in Maine, Abdulkerim Said, the founder and executive director of the New Mainers Public Health Initiative, and Kathy Kilrain del Rio, director of campaigns and health care advocacy with Maine Equal Justice.
The proposed legislation will improve health equity in Maine by ensuring that children, adults and older Mainers from low-income households have access to affordable health care. In 1996, with strong bipartisan support, the Maine Legislature exercised its right under federal law to provide health care to low-income Maine residents who are immigrants. In 2011, the LePage administration stripped health care from those individuals. LD 718 will restore eligibility for all low-income Mainers to receive coverage through MaineCare and CHIP.
Following the press conference, Talbot Ross will present the bill in a public hearing before the Health and Human Services Committee. The public hearing will be livestreamed here.
WHAT: Virtual press conference in support of LD 718, An Act To Improve the Health of Maine Residents by Closing Coverage Gaps in the MaineCare Program and the Children's Health Insurance Program.
WHO:
- Assistant House Majority Leader Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland
- Crystal Cron, founder and president of Presente Maine
- Abdulkerim Said, founder and executive director of the New Mainers Public Health Initiative
- Kathy Kilrain del Rio, director of campaigns and health care advocacy with Maine Equal Justice
WHEN: Thursday, April 15, 2021 at 9:00 a.m.
HOW TO WATCH AND ASK QUESTIONS:
- Register to join the Zoom press conference here. If you have any questions, email Jackie Merrill with the subject line: LD 718 Press Conference Registration.
- When you log into Zoom, you will enter a waiting room. Only those who have registered will be allowed into the press conference, where you will be muted upon entry.
- Once you are in the Zoom call, there are two ways to submit a question:
- Select the 'Raise Hand" button toward the bottom right of your screen.
- Enter your question in the chat, along with your name and outlet.
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [Talbot Ross], c. 812-1111