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On Wednesday April 1, before he officially proposed the largest increase in military spending in decades (from $1 trillion this year to $1.5 trillion in 2027), President Donald Trump said it is not possible for the federal government to fund Medicare and Medicaid, and that the states should take over these programs.
Medicare currently takes up about $1 trillion of total U.S. spending and Medicaid over $900 billion. Maine, already having budget battles in the Legislature, cannot add $3 billion (the proportion of the total Medicare budget Maine would be expected to bear) to its current $12 billion budget. And, that would not take into account the cost of developing and administering its own Medicare program, or the cost of taking on Medicaid, another $3 billion.
Among high income developed countries, the U.S. ranks last overall in health outcomes and life expectancy, despite paying more per person. If Maine is forced to take over Medicare and Medicaid, the best we could expect would be greatly diminished programs, and our health outcomes and life expectancy will decline proportionately.
Of the 10 countries with the highest military spending, the U.S. currently spends more than the other nine, combined. Our Constitution says we are a government for the people. Markedly cutting our health care expenditures while greatly adding to an already bloated military budget sounds to me like a government with misplaced priorities.
Robert Lodato
Charleston
