Snowe, Michaud on health care

 U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe was on Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer this morning where she talked about the almost certain death of the public option and her proposal for a “trigger option.”

 Snowe, one of the Gang of Six still trying to work out something that will draw bipartisan support, said she wants to give private insurance companies time to try to find a way to extend coverage to everyone. She says she’d set a deadline, and if they can’t do it, the government can intervene.

 Schieffer also pressed her twice to see if she would be willing to go it alone as the only Republican Senator to vote in favor of a major health reform bill. She successfully deflected the question both times, saying she’d really rather focus on policy, not politics.

 The Washington Post has a transcript of the interview that can be found here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/13/AR200909...

 Also on the health care front, I caught up with U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, D-2nd District Saturday to see how he’s feeling about the plans that are out there. A Blue Dog, Michaud wants reform, but he told me he’s concerned about proposed cuts to Medicare and changes to Medicaid that are in the plan.

 Michaud said Maine -- and in turn Maine nursing homes -- would be penalized by the cuts. He said as currently proposed, it would mean a 9.5 percent cut for nursing homes in Maine.

 And, he said changes to the Medicaid eligibility requirements will help other states, but not Maine.

 “It penalizes states like Maine that have done the right thing all along,” he said.