The Maine House of Representatives voted late Thursday night to fill an immediate shortfall in the state budget for this year. The budget rejects the majority of Governor Paul LePage’s proposals that were widely rebuked by the public during hearings at the State House.

“This is not a Democratic budget,” said Rep. Emily Cain, the House Democratic Leader. “Democrats voted for this bill because we knew the alternative plan from the governor and Republicans would be devastating for Maine people and our economy. The hard fact remains we have to keep the lights on, ensure that health care workers get paid, and continue critical health care services for thousands of Maine people. We have an even bigger hill to climb in the next budget.”

In December, LePage proposed taking health care away from 65,000 people to close the projected $220 million in cuts to DHHS. The budget passed tonight will limit those cuts to 14,000 low-income parents who receive health care through MaineCare.

“We come to this agreement with great concern and pause,” said Rep. Peggy Rotundo, the lead House Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, during her floor speech. “Democrats don’t agree that taking health care away from Maine people, who need it most will solve our budget problems. The Republican pursuit of eliminating people’s health care has been a distraction from the laser focus that is needed to reinvigorate jobs and the economy in our state.”

The budget rejects the Governor’s proposed cuts to the Drugs for the Elderly program, the Fund for Healthy Maine, private-non medical institutions, and cuts to hospitals for rate reimbursements. It also preserves health care for 18,000 childless adults referred to as non-categoricals, by capping funding for the program at $40 million. It maintains the cap by freezing enrollment and through attrition.

Sixty percent of childless adults are 35 or older; 43 percent are 45 or older; and 47 percent have serious medical conditions, such as cancer and diabetes. Recipients of the public health insurance must earn at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $10,890 a year for one person.

The budget also lowers the eligibility threshold for parents of children on MaineCare. Under the new agreement, changes to the parents of children on MaineCare will not occur until October 1, 2012 at which point the eligibility threshold is reduced from 200 to 133 percent of poverty level.

Rep. Mark Eves, D-North Berwick, the lead House Democrat on the Health and Human Services Committee, introduced an amendment to restore health care for these parents living in poverty through a managed care initiative to make the program more efficient. Democrats introduced two other amendments to blunt the impact of the cuts. Republicans rejected all three amendments.

The budget also includes $25 million in savings as proposed by the streamlining task force last fall.

Lawmakers will now begin work on the remaining $84 million in proposed cuts to the DHHS budget for 2013 in a separate bill later this month.

The budget vote is now pending in the Senate.