A lot of attention has been given to the governor’s proposed cuts to MaineCare. There is one area of cuts that will actually cost taxpayers much more in the long run.

Targeted case managers are available to a very limited number of MaineCare recipients. I have been blessed beyond measure because one has been provided to me.

I was assigned a manager to help me deal with my HIV. In addition to HIV, I am living with cancer, anemia, seizures, migraines and multiple other issues. When all of my medical issues collided, I was overwhelmed and unable to find the medical care or access the services I needed and the Maine CDC referred to me to a manager through St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center.

She was able to get me enrolled in MaineCare, refer me to the seven doctors I now see, assist me with rent and food, and has become a great friend and source of support.

If the governor is successful in eliminating funding for targeted case management, most managers will be unemployed. This means that the services my manager was able to find for me will either not be available or will be available only through emergency room services or other, more costly means.

The bills for these services will be paid by the state during the same budget period the proposed cuts are supposed to be enacted.

The Legislature must consider the real cost behind these cuts. It simply must not allow the governor to succeed.

John Wilson, Greene