Health Care, Taxes and Budget Medicaid cuts put rural hospitals and economies at risk At a glance Last year four Maine hospitals were identified as at risk of closing due to HR 1 Recently released financial data shows three of the […] Mark Shaffer Posted July 31, 2026 Tags Budget, Federal, Health Care, Medicaid
Taxes and Budget HR 1 jeopardizes Maine’s budget with expensive cost shifts At a glance: HR 1 requires states to pay a share of the cost of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Maine’s share will be $62.5 to […] Mark Shaffer Posted July 9, 2026 Tags Budget, Federal, Food Insecurity, SNAP
Taxes and Budget The hidden SNAP cut that keeps growing At a glance: Since passage of the Republican “Big Beautiful Bill,” 3.5 million people have lost SNAP benefits, and people who still qualify will get less help […] Mark Shaffer Posted June 23, 2026 Tags Budget, Federal, Food Insecurity, SNAP
Health Care, Taxes and Budget Federal bailout package for rural hospitals fails to deliver HR 1, the harmful Republican megabill that delivered trillions in tax cuts for wealthy households and large corporations, also cut $911 billion from Medicaid, $134 billion of […] Mark Shaffer Posted May 28, 2026 Tags Budget, Economic Security, Health Care
Maine’s Economy, Taxes and Budget IRS data shows Maine is gaining residents from so-called “low tax” states “Tax flight” makes for a convenient talking point. It just doesn’t match reality. The latest IRS migration data shows what we already know: people move for jobs, […] Mark Shaffer Posted April 1, 2026 Tags Budget, Immigration, Revenue, Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes
