A Maine Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday that the state must comply with a Medicaid expansion approved last year, forcing Republican Gov. Paul LePage to move forward with it.
Judge Michaela Murphy's opinion, according to The Hill, set a date of Dec. 5 to kick off the expansion process.
"Although the governor may believe implementation to be unwise and disagree with the Act as a matter of policy, he may not ignore the will of the people and refuse to take any action toward accomplishing the policy objectives of the Act," the ruling reads.
Expansion of the Medicaid program will provide as many as 80,000 Maine residents with healthcare, according to the Portland Press Herald.
LePage opposed the measure because he claimed it did not have enough funding. Fifty-nine percent of Maine voters approved it in the November 2017 election.
The Herald reported that Medicaid expansion in Maine will cost the state around $55 million annually.
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