Please go to The Maine Beacon to read the full article. 

By: Dan Neumann

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The number of people who have enrolled in the state’s Medicaid system, MaineCare, which Mainers voted to expand in 2017, reached 40,770 this month.

Within that group, according to the latest tally released by Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services, are 5,752 individuals who are now receiving treatment for substance use disorder who were not prior to Medicaid expansion.

“Expansion is working the way it was intended,” Kathy Kilrain del Rio, a policy analyst at Maine Equal Justice, told Beacon in an email. “Mainers seeking help for substance use are able to get much needed support for recovery and other health care needs, and that’s making a world of difference for individuals and families.”