Sept. 11 To the Editor:
I am a small business owner in my 60s, married to a retired Navy physician. I live in a nice house, in a nice neighborhood. I donate the maximum to political causes and candidates and I chair my municipal political committee. My hobby is knitting. I am also an alcoholic/addict who
was unemployable and lived in someones basement for a year. My life changed in 1986 because I qualified for Medicaid and there were treatment centers available.
The government invested six months of Medicaid and Food Stamp funds in me and in the ensuing years I have paid more in taxes than I ever imagined; moving four miles away to New Hampshire would mean a substantial savings in state income taxes but I choose to stay in Maine. The two women who work at my business also pay taxes. I think thats a very good return on the governments investment.
Mine is not a unique experience, there are thousands of people in Maine who have recovered with the help of Medicaid and now lead productive lives.
Medicaid expansion will bring revenue into Maine, we need to view it as an investment, not a handout. Vote yes on #2; Medicaid expansion will give 70,000 more Mainers the opportunity that I had to recover from a disease and become an asset to their community.
Kathleen Marra
Kittery, Maine