3 months ago
PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER) -- Fresh off of casting her vote in favor of the House health care reform bill, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree got a rousing welcome home at the Portland Jetport Sunday morning. A group of supporters with the liberal organization "Change That Works" greeted Pingree with signs, balloons and cookies to thank her for her vote. Pingree said the bill passed by the House Saturday night was flawed, but she's proud of the way it vastly expands health care coverage, ensures those with pre-existing conditions can get health insurance, and removes the donut hole from the medicare prescription drug benefit. "It wasn't a perfect bill," Pingree said. "All of us would have done things a bit diferently. But just to get that bill passed and to allow people to move forward, I felt like this is the vote that my constituents sent me to cast." Congressman Mike Michaud voted somewhat more reluctantly for the bill. He said he did it to move reform forward, but that there's no guarantee he'll vote for the final version. In a statement, he wrote, "Most specifically, I remain concerned about parts of the bill that cut Medicare and Medicaid. These cuts would unfairly impact Maine due to our unique situation as having one fo the most efficient health care systems in teh country, while receiving some of the lowest reimbursement rates for services provided..." Republicans, who voted nearly unanimously against the bill, said the bill is far too expensive and they don't like that it mandates americans to carry insurance. The Senate is expected to take up its version of the bill some time before the new year.
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