Question 1 is not the answer

Question 1 on the November ballot proposes a 3.8 percent tax on certain employers, individuals and households in Maine. The money from this new tax is for home care for seniors and disabled adults. But as much as $6.5 million could be used for a separate, new bureaucracy to run the program. The new program is free to everyone, no matter a person’s income.

Free is never free, and the proposal comes with a lot of fine print that has nothing to do with home care and more to do with the interests of the proposal’s sponsors.

I spent many years working to expand home care in Maine. But home care isn’t right for everyone. Maine’s seniors need a system of services — home care, assisted living, nursing home and hospice. Providers and staff in Maine’s long-term care system strive every day to give the best care possible. The system works best when we invest in every part.

If you have a car with four flat tires and inflate only one tire, you are still going nowhere. That is why Question 1 is not the answer to improving care for Maine seniors.