This bill is DEAD.

This bill increases for 3 years the MaineCare reimbursement rate for ambulance services to 140% of the average allowable reimbursement rate under Medicare for such services.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE. 

This bill, which was also filed last session (LD 936), requires an employer with 10 or more employees to include on a job posting a statement that lists the prospective range of pay the employer will offer to a successful applicant. The bill also requires an employer, upon request of an employee, to disclose the range of pay it offers for the position the employee holds and requires the employer to maintain a record of each position held by an employee and the employee's pay history during the employee's employment and for 3 years after the employee's termination of employment.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.

This bill, also filed last session (LD 827), does the following.

1. It allows an employee to request in writing, including by electronic means, a flexible work schedule.

2. It requires an employer, which may be a private employer or public employer, to consider an employee's request for a flexible work schedule and whether the request may be granted in a manner that is not inconsistent with employer operations.

3. It specifies that an employer and an employee must mutually agree on the duration of time and terms of a flexible work schedule.

4. It allows an employer to rescind a flexible work schedule with as much notice to an employee as is practicable.

5. It prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee for exercising rights given by the bill.

6. It specifies that a collective bargaining agreement may provide an employee with rights more expansive than rights established by the bill.

As enacted, this law (Chapter 524) specifies that an employer may use employer surveillance only if the employer informs the employee before beginning employer surveillance. It prohibits an employer from using audiovisual monitoring in an employee's residence or personal vehicle or on the employee's property unless unless the audiovisual monitoring is required by the employer for duties of the job. It provides that an employee can decline a request by an employer to install data collection or transmission applications on the employee's personal electronic devices for the purposes of employer surveillance. Employers must also apply notice annually to all employees.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.

This bill establishes a sponsorship program within the Finance Authority of Maine to make grants to sponsoring institutions to provide an alternative license pathway for internationally trained physicians in the State and to expand the number of physicians practicing in areas in the State experiencing a shortage of physicians. Under the program, internationally trained physicians are provided a pathway to full and unrestricted licensure as physicians in the State as long as certain requirements are met.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.

This bill provides a sales and use tax exemption on the sale of durable medical equipment and breast pumps for home use and on the sale of mobility-enhancing equipment for use in a home or motor vehicle.

As enacted, the law (Chapter 520) does a number of things.  1.  It establishes a Maine Emergency Medical Services Commission.  2.  It mandates that municipalities adopt a plan stipulating the method by which transporting emergency medical services will be delivered within the municipality.  3. It directs Maine EMS to conduct a funding needs analysis for regionalization of EMS services.  4.  It directs Maine EMS to submit draft legislation that would implement the MaineEMS Two Year Action Plan from October 2023.  5.  It directs MaineEMS to develop, as resources allow, a PR campaign for EMS services.  6.  It reduces the MaineEMS Board from 26 members to 18 members.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE. 

This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to amend its rules in MaineCare Benefits Manual, Section 45, Hospital Services, to require the department to reimburse at least 75% of the as-filed settlement pursuant to a hospital's cost reports within 90 days of receipt. It requires the department to accomplish this within existing resources.

The amended versio of this concept draft is a 'do-over' from the first session.  LD 1906, which deals with giving payers some ability to 'audit' their insurance carriers, apparently has some drafting flaws.  LD 378 is an attempt to fix those flaws.

THIS BILL IS DEAD.

This bill provides a municipality the power to limit the amount of a property tax exemption given to a nonprofit institution or organization when the municipality determines by vote that such an exemption would be detrimental to the residents of that municipality.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.  

This bill amends the provisions of law governing the Silver Alert Program to clarify that a person reported missing from a group home, mental hospital, psychiatric ward or other facility or division of a facility providing inpatient mental health services in the State is automatically considered a missing endangered person and a Silver Alert must be issued for that person. The bill requires that Silver Alerts be issued immediately to all police departments statewide and to all hospitals, homeless shelters, soup kitchens and public libraries in the State within 24 hours. When a person who is the subject of a Silver Alert is not located, the alert must be reissued after 2 weeks and every 2 weeks thereafter.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.  

The funds provided by this bond issue, in the amount of $13,485,000, will be used to improve emergency aviation infrastructure, including hospital helipads, fuel systems, automated weather observation systems, communications systems and emergency transport, to improve the safety of and access to critical emergency medical services.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.  

This bill directs the Department of Public Safety to establish, operate and maintain a sexual assault forensic examination kit tracking system. The system must provide relevant information for victims, both those who choose to report to a law enforcement agency and those who choose not to report, and other approved users regarding the processing, custody, analysis and destruction of evidence.

This bill is DEAD. (LTW).

Concept draft - no content.

This bill is DEAD.  (LTW).

Concept draft - no content.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.  

This bill provides ongoing funds to maintain the Doctors for Maine's Future Scholarship Program.

Concept draft - no content.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.  

This bill codifies the federal paid overtime salary threshold for a salaried employee by adding the salary level of $58,656 per year and the 35th percentile of weekly earnings for full-time salary workers in the lowest-wage census region as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, or its successor agency, to the existing provision that details the compensation amounts in order for a salaried employee to be exempt from the laws governing minimum wage and overtime pay.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.  

This bill prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services from prohibiting coverage of or otherwise restricting coverage for individuals enrolled in the MaineCare program from receiving methadone maintenance for the treatment of opioid use disorder and from concurrently participating in medically appropriate intensive outpatient programs and other outpatient services intended for the treatment of substance use disorder or behavioral health disorders.

Concept - no content.  Budget.

This bill is DEAD.  (LTW).

Concept Draft - no content.

As enacted, this law (Chapter 530):

1. It adds to the Maine Prescription Drug Affordability Board the executive director of the Maine Health Data Organization, or the executive director's designee, as an ex officio, nonvoting member.

2.  It adds an insurance carrier rep to the board.

3. It removes the authority of the board to recommend that public payors pay an annual assessment to support the administration of the board.

4. It changes the scope of the duties of the board from determining prescription drug spending targets to focusing on an assessment of strategies to reduce prescription drug costs, reduce the rate of growth in prescription drug spending and reduce cost barriers for consumers.

5. It requires the board to review how states with authority to establish upper payment limits have implemented that authority and their regulation of pharmacy benefits managers, to recommend whether the board should have comparable authority and to assess implementing reference-based pricing for the first 10 prescription drugs for which the Medicare program has negotiated maximum fair prices through the Medicare drug price negotiation program.

6. It requires the board to recommend annual spending targets for prescription drugs for public payors and implementing complementary purchasing strategies; annual spending targets and strategies for the commercial insurance market; transparency requirements and supply chain regulation; strategies to reduce out-of-pocket costs through insurance regulation; and aligning prescription drug payment with acquisition costs.

It also directs the board to recommend a program to reduce the impact of prescription drug costs on the State's health care system, stem the rate of growth in prescription drug spending and reduce cost barriers for consumers based on data the board has collected.  The board is directed to submit in reports to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health coverage, insurance and financial services matters a preliminary plan to implement the program by January 30, 2026 and a final plan by October 1, 2027.  The joint standing committee is authorized to report out legislation based on the reports.

Budget - Concept Draft

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.  

This resolve provides one-time funding to support the full implementation of the 5 certified community behavioral health clinics certified by the State as part of the federal certified community behavioral health clinic Medicaid demonstration program, including hiring clinical and administrative staff critical to the success of the program. The funding must support enhancement of the DHHS proposed certified community behavioral health clinic rate methodology, including increasing wages for new clinical positions that require graduate-level education from 100% to 125% of the state median wage and increasing wages for new administrative positions from 75% to 100% of the state median wage as reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Concept draft - budget.

Concept draft - budget.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.  

This bill requires employers with at least one employee within the State and at least 250 employees in the United States to annually report for a one-week period between October 1st and December 31st of the preceding year the number of male, female and nonbinary employees in the employer's employ, the median hourly equivalent rates of pay of all male, female and nonbinary employees in the employer's employ and the gender wage gap calculated by dividing the median hourly equivalent rate of pay of all the male employees by the median hourly equivalent rate of pay of all the female employees.

This bill: 1. Includes critical incident stress management peer support in the definition of "health care" in the laws governing the confidentiality of health care information; 2. Provides that providers of critical incident stress management peer support are mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse or neglect or suspicious child deaths; and 3. Designates communications of providers of critical incident stress management peer support as privileged communications.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.  

This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to apply, by December 31, 2025, to the federal Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for a waiver or demonstration project or to amend a pending or current waiver or demonstration project to provide continuous eligibility to a child from birth through 5 years of age who is eligible for and enrolls in the Medicaid program. 

THIS BILL IS DEAD.

This bill requires a health insurance carrier, beginning in 2026, to provide a quarterly report to the Superintendent of Insurance that identifies the number of claims for that quarter that were denied, the number of claims for that quarter for which prior authorization was denied, the 5 most common reasons for a claim denial and the 5 most common reasons for a prior authorization denial.

As enacted (Chapter 540), this law provides that, once rules are adopted by the State Board of Nursing to establish practice standards, a certified nurse practitioner who qualifies as an advanced practice registered nurse is no longer required to practice for at least 24 months under the supervision of a licensed physician or supervising nurse practitioner or be employed by a clinic or hospital that has a medical director who is a licensed physician.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.  

This law requires that the annual report on firearm fatalities and hospitalizations, provided by the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, include the number of mental health referrals made for individuals assessed as presenting a likelihood of foreseeable harm and the number of individuals receiving treatment or services pursuant to those referrals.

This bill is a concept draft pursuant to Joint Rule 208. The goal of this bill is straightforward but critical: to formally recognize 988 as Maine's crisis and suicide prevention lifeline in our state laws. While 988 has been a vital national resource since its launch, it currently lacks a clear place in Maine statute. What 988 is and what it does is not defined anywhere in our laws. This bill seeks to address that gap. 

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.  

This bill excepts testosterone from the definition of "controlled substance" in the laws governing controlled substances prescription monitoring and directs the Department of Health and Human Services to purge from the records of the Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program all information concerning the prescribing and dispensing of testosterone.

This bill establishes the Maine Quality Care Act to ensure adequate direct care registered nurse staffing assignments in health care facilities, including hospitals, freestanding emergency departments and ambulatory surgical facilities, and critical access hospitals to provide safe and effective patient care. It establishes minimum staffing requirements for direct care registered nurses based on patient care unit and patient needs, specifies the method to calculate a health care facility's compliance with the staffing requirements, protects direct care registered nurses from retaliation and includes notice, record-keeping and enforcement requirements. The bill also directs the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a process for critical access hospitals to request flexibility regarding the minimum staffing requirements.

BILL IS DEAD.

This bill establishes requirements, beginning January 1, 2026, for health insurance carriers that use artificial intelligence to make medical review or utilization review determinations relating to the approval, denial, delay, modification or adjustment of coverage for services under a health plan. The bill requires that any denial, delay, modification or adjustment of health care services based on medical necessity be made by a clinical peer.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.  

This bill establishes the Maine Health Care Education Training and Medical Residency Fund and appropriates $5,000,000 annually to support health care in rural and underserved communities and physician workforce development.

THIS BILL IS DEAD.

This is a "red flag" gun control bill.

This initiated bill enacts the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act. Under the bill, a petition for an extreme risk protection order, which prohibits the purchase, possession or control of a dangerous weapon, may be sought if a person is suspected of posing a significant danger of causing physical injury to the person or to another person. A significant danger of causing physical injury to the person or another person is demonstrated by establishing that the person has inflicted or attempted to inflict physical injury on another person; placed another person in reasonable fear of physical injury; by action or inaction, presented a danger to persons in the person's care; or threatened or attempted suicide or has threatened or attempted serious bodily injury. 

This resolve (Chapter 119) requires that, by March 1, 2026, the Department of Health and Human Services issue 1 request for proposals for pilot programs to develop child assertive community treatment teams.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.  

As amended, this bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to include language in its contracts with service providers providing that, in the event of a delay in finalization of a noncompetitively procured contract renewal, as long as the delays are solely the result of department or state administrative procurement processes, the value of the renewal contract meets the review threshold of the State Procurement Review Committee as set forth in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 1824-B and the service provider remains in good standing with the department, the department must offer the service provider the option of extending the contract for up to 6 months at the previous contract rate and terms until the renewal of the contract is finalized.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.  

As amended, this bill requires that a prior authorization for health care services or prescriptions remain valid for the duration of the treatment or one year, whichever is longer. It prohibits a health care plan from requiring the renewal of a prior authorization more frequently than once every 3 years for treatment or prescription that is necessary for more than one year. 

This bill provides that care that is provided at the scene of an emergency medical services event by an ambulance service or nontransporting emergency medical service is reimbursable care regardless of whether a patient is transported to another facility. This includes the administration of overdose-reversing medications that do not result in patient transport to a facility. Additionally, the bill requires reimbursement for certain services provided through community paramedicine.

As enacted, this law (Chapter 567):

Allows physicians who are licensed out of state issuing orders in this State are limited to home health care services, but not hospice.

It provides that home health care providers who provide services to patients that have orders from a physician licensed in another state must be certified by CMS, in addition to being licensed by the Department of Health and Human Services.

It provides that an order for home health care services from a physician licensed in another state is limited to 90 days.

5.  It clarifies that the physician licensed in another state may provide telehealth services only to the patient for which the order has been issued.

It clarifies that the physician licensed in another state may order services only from a home health care provider that is certified by CMS and may only order services while the patient is receiving those services from such a provider.

It clarifies that a physician licensed in another state is exempt from licensure by the Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine or the Maine Board of Osteopathic Licensure for this limited purpose.  A physician who violates this limited exemption may lose the exemption.

As enacted, this law (Chapter 568) greatly expands the Department of Labor's investigatory powers.  It provides the Director of Labor Standards within the Department of Labor the authority to conduct an investigation when the director believes a person or employer has violated any provision of Title 26, chapter 7 or 15.  The amendment also provides the penalties the director may order if it is determined that a violation has occurred and authorizes the director to issue a notice of levy if the person or employer charged with a violation fails to pay. The amendment also requires persons or employers to prominently post in the workplace the notices of violation issued for a violation and requires the person or employer to notify employees if a notice of violation covers a defined period of time.

THIS BILL IS ON THE APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.

This bill, beginning January 5, 2026, increases the cigarette excise tax rate by 50 mills, changing the rate per pack of 20 cigarettes from $2 to $3, and the rate per cigarette from 10¢ to 15¢.

This law (Chapter 507) establishes the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Prevention and Support Program, which the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention must administer, within existing resources, in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services, office of aging and disability services.

This bill: 1. Provides access to the Maine Public Employees Retirement System for long-term care workers including nurses, certified nursing assistants, direct care workers and housekeeping and dietary staff; 2. Provides access to the state group health plan for long-term care workers including nurses, certified nursing assistants, direct care workers and housekeeping and dietary staff; 3. Provides nursing homes and long-term care facilities with direct MaineCare reimbursement for training for staff, including a certified nursing assistant training program, a direct care worker training program and English as a second language training for a staff member who is a nonnative English speaker; 4. Provides nursing homes and long-term care facilities with direct MaineCare reimbursement for actual costs of interpreter services for staff and residents who require language assistance, including expenses for on-site interpreters, remote interpreting services and interpreter-related administrative costs; and 5. Directs the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation to provide translations of certified nursing assistant written examinations in French, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin and Filipino.

THIS BILL IS DEAD.

As amended, the bill prohibits the inclusion of transfer of liability provisions in contracts in which a party transfers liability for negligence arising out of a party's own negligence or liability for a party's own liability arising out of an intentional act or omission. The amendment does not affect the validity of workers' compensation or other insurance policies, the validity of surety bonds or the validity of any release or waiver of liability agreements or similar agreements related to a party's own assumption of risk or indemnification. The amendment applies to contracts entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2026.

The sponsor's proposed amendment strikes and replaces the original bill. It establishes the Fund for a Healthy Maine Stabilization Fund as a sub-account of the Fund for a Healthy Maine. It requires the State Controller to credit all non-participating manufacturer adjustments received for 2026 and 2027, 10% of non-participating manufacturer adjustments received for 2028 and thereafter, and a proportional share of interest or other investment income on balances in the Fund for a Healthy Maine. It provides that funds shall be used to support the work of the Maine Commission on Public Health and Prevention, support the development, publication and promotion of a comprehensive state health plan, and eliminate the need for the working capital advance.. If the need for a working capital advance or use of settlement payments in the fiscal year in which they are received is not eliminated by April 2028, any funds in the stabilization fund remaining in subsequent years must be used to reduce reliance on these two sources until all settlements payments can be allocated to the fiscal year following the year in which they are received. Any remaining funds may be used for health promotion activities allowable within the Fund for a Healthy Maine and may not be transferred out of the Fund for a Healthy Maine.
The amendment also establishes the Maine Commission on Public Health and Prevention for the purpose of assisting and advising the Legislature on matters involving public health and prevention and assisting the Maine Center for Disease Control with the development, publication and promotion of a state health plan. The Commission is funded by the Healthy Maine Stabilization Fund and overseen by the joint standing committee of the legislature with jurisdiction over matters related to public health.

This bill amends provisions of the law governing optometrists. The bill provides a more detailed explanation of what constitutes the practice of optometry. The definition of "practice of optometry" in current law does not include surgical procedures. Under the bill, certain types of ophthalmic surgeries are included in the practice of optometry and certain procedures are specifically excluded. An optometrist may only perform ophthalmic surgery if the optometrist meets credentialing requirements established by the State Board of Optometry. The bill also broadens the authority of an optometrist to dispense drugs by expanding the types of drugs an optometrist may dispense to include schedule II narcotics limited to pharmaceuticals containing specified doses of hydrocodone combined with doses of another drug and by removing language that prohibits an optometrist from administering drugs by injection or intravenously. 

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.  

This bill directs the Department of Public Safety to establish, operate and maintain a sexual assault forensic examination kit tracking system for all completed kits regardless of whether the alleged offense related to the kit was reported to a law enforcement agency. 

This bill enacts the Maine Online Data Privacy Act, which takes effect July 1, 2026. The Act regulates the collection, use, processing, disclosure, sale and deletion of nonpublicly available personal data by a person that conducts business in this State or that produces products or services targeted to residents of this State, referred to in the Act as a "controller," if the personal data is linked or can be reasonably linked to an identified or identifiable individual who is a resident of this State, referred to in the Act as a "consumer," or is linked or reasonably can be linked to a device that is linked or reasonably can be linked to an identified or identifiable consumer.

As enacted, this law (Chapter 599) increases the threshold for review of certain ambulatory surgical facilities under the requirement to obtain a certificate of need from the Department of Health and Human Services to finance or incur expenditures for a project from $3M to $7.5M and then indexes the threshold to inflation.

Among other changes, this bill increases the rate for the labor portion of Medicaid reimbursement for services provided by essential support workers from 125% of the minimum wage to 140%. This requirement is effective January 1, 2027. The bill clarifies that when state funding has not been appropriated that is sufficient to increase essential support workers wages to the extent required by the law, the requirement for essential support workers to be paid no less than 125% of the minimum wage is not required.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE.  

Part A of this bill provides one-time funding for the MaineCare program in fiscal year 2024-25. Part A takes effect when approved. Part B of the bill deappropriates one-time funding provided in Public Law 2025, chapter 2, Part D for the MaineCare program. Part B takes effect June 20, 2025, which is the effective date of Public Law 2025, chapter 2, Part D.

This law (Chapter 559) provides that an HIV test may be undertaken with a patient's informed consent. The law also provides that disclosure of information in a medical record for the purpose of seeking insurance reimbursement for HIV testing is not precluded.

As enacted, this law (Chapter 576) changes eligibility for reimbursement from the Progressive Treatment Program Fund by replacing the term "private entities" with a list of individuals eligible to receive reimbursements, including the superintendent or chief administrative officer of a private psychiatric hospital, the director of an ACT team, a private medical practitioner, a law enforcement officer or the legal guardian of the patient who is the subject of an application to a progressive treatment program.  It also allows reimbursement for legal costs incurred to extend an existing progressive treatment program.  It adds language stating that a private attorney representing an individual eligible to receive funds may also be reimbursed.  It changes the cap for reimbursement from the fund from $800 to an annual cap of $3,500.  It adds language stating that reimbursement is subject to available funds.

As enacted, this law (Chapter 577) modifies licensure requirements for psychologists by allowing the State Board of Examiners of Psychologists to accept applications for licensure at any time after successful passage of the qualifying examination. Current law prevents the board from accepting such applications within 6 months of failure of the examination

As enacted, this law (Chapter 589) raises the limit on the total annual amount of the assessment that supports the Department of Labor's Safety Education and Training Fund from 1% to 1.25% of the total of the workers' compensation benefits paid by all licensed carriers and group and individual self-insured employers during the most recent calendar year for which data is available.

As enacted, this law (Chapter 594) updates the laws governing the licensing and investigation of facilities for children and adults by clarifying the requirements regarding confidential abuse and neglect investigation records, requiring the Department of Health and Human Services, instead of the State Fire Marshal or other public safety inspectors, to inspect specialized children's homes and removing requirements for interagency licensing of children's homes between the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education and for licensing of nursery schools. 

This bill requires pharmacy benefits managers to allow for the dispensing of a covered person's prescriptions at a network pharmacy if the prescription is delayed by more than one day after the expected delivery date provided by a mail order pharmacy or if the prescription drug arrives in an unusable condition.

This law (Chapter 561) removes the MaineCare program from the definition of "carrier" for the purposes of the law governing health plans that provide prescription drug benefits under the Maine Insurance Code.

This bill clarifies that for a private plan in the form of self-insurance, the pooling of risk, financial resources or administration among multiple employers is prohibited under the paid family and medical leave benefits program. It also provides that this provision applies retroactively to April 1, 2025.

This law (Chapter 544) modifies the initial licensure qualifications for prescription drug manufacturers and wholesalers by allowing an applicant to apply for licensure before the applicant has obtained a registration number from the appropriate federal agencies but requires that a manufacturer or wholesaler licensed in this State file the applicable registration numbers with the Maine Board of Pharmacy once the registration numbers are obtained by the manufacturer or wholesaler. The law also provides that the board may deny a license, refuse to renew a license or impose disciplinary sanctions if the manufacturer or wholesaler fails to file the applicable registration numbers with the board once the registration numbers are obtained.

Current law requires that reports to the Department of Health and Human Services regarding abuse, neglect or exploitation of adults must be made by telephone. This bill adds the option of reporting by an online portal to align state law with federal regulations promulgated in June 2024 that require states to allow at least 2 methods of reporting, one of which must be online.

This law (Chapter 545) amends the laws governing extreme risk protection orders by adding the requirement that a copy of the judicial endorsement and all attachments be provided to the court. Current law requires that a copy of the notification to the restricted person including the date of notification be provided to the court.

This bill provides $1.1M in one-time funds to support the construction of a psychiatric residential treatment facility serving at-risk youth under 21 years of age.

This bill allows pharmacists to prescribe, dispense or administer vaccines. It requires insurance carriers and the MaineCare program to provide coverage for vaccines without any deductible, copayment, coinsurance or other cost-sharing reimbursement and to provide coverage for off-label use of vaccines.

This law (Chapter 584) changes the licensure requirements for social workers. It enacts definitions of conditional licensure categories, identifies qualifying degrees for licensure, streamlines the qualifications for licensure specific to consultation and social work experience requirements, removes requirements for initial licensure that have created barriers to entering or re-entering the social work profession, clarifies the consultant eligibility, removes the 2-tiered system for eligibility for Department of Health and Human Services social workers and social workers who are not employees of the department and expands the State Board of Social Worker Licensure's authority to consider consultation and social work experience gained in this State or another jurisdiction when seeking initial licensure, late renewal or reinstatement of licensure.  The law also requires DPFR to continue to examine the existing statutory and regualtory regime for potential future changes.

This bill allows certain licensed professionals to use artificial intelligence to assist in providing administrative support or supplementary support in therapy or psychotherapy services. The bill provides requirements for the use of artificial intelligence as well as prohibitions on its use. The bill also provides for the enforcement of the provisions and penalties for violations.

This law (Chapter 574) directs the Department of Health and Human Services to issue a certificate to an individual who has successfully completed a department-approved certified residential medication aide course that meets the medication administration training requirements for unlicensed assistive personnel in accordance with rules established by the department for certain facilities. The bill also requires the department to review the course curriculum at least every 5 years and allows the department to establish by rule certification fees and sanction fees for certified residential medication aides and instructors.

This law (Chapter 585) addresses certain recommendations from the Transforming Interpreting Maine (TIME) needs assessment report issued by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2024 in the wake of the October 2023 Lewiston shooting. The bill authorizes an exemption to American Sign Language interpreter licensure during emergencies, creates a broader educational pathway to licensure and extends the period of conditional licensure from 4 to 5 years, with a 6th year granted in cases of extreme hardship.

This bill removes the requirement for a practice agreement with an active physician for a physician associate who is the principal clinical provider in a practice that does not include a physician. The bill also makes optional consultations between a physician associate and a physician or other health care professional and removes the requirement that a physician be accessible at all times for purposes of consultation.

This bill is DEAD.

This bill requires hospitals to adopt and submit to the Department of Health and Human Services a cybersecurity plan that includes provisions related to notifications, communications, continuity of care for patients and patient complaint processes in the event of a cybersecurity intrusion. The cybersecurity plan must include a provision for cybersecurity training for hospital employees and board members and organizations affiliated with the hospital. The bill also adds cybersecurity intrusions impacting patients' access to medical care to the definition of "sentinel event" in the laws governing required reporting of sentinel events.

bill makes the following changes to the mandated reporter law. 1. It removes the list of specified mandated reporters and requires a person who in the normal course of the person's professional duties interacts with children or persons responsible for children to be a mandated reporter. 2. It removes the penalty for violations of the mandated reporter law. 3. It requires a report of abuse or neglect to be made within 48 hours. 4. It requires the training for mandated reporters to be every 2 years instead of every 4 years. 5. It requires the person who suspects the abuse or neglect of a child to make the report. 6. It requires the Department of Health and Human Services, rather than the mandated reporter, to report to the appropriate district attorney’s office when the abuse or neglect is caused by a person not responsible for the child. 7. It corrects cross-references to reflect the new section of law for mandated reporting.

This bill prohibits a person acting on behalf of a public school, state postsecondary educational institution, health care facility, child care facility, family child care provider or public library from providing voluntary consent permitting a law enforcement officer engaged in immigration enforcement or supporting immigration enforcement to enter a nonpublic area of a public school, state postsecondary educational institution, health care facility, child care facility, home of a family child care provider or public library or access, review or obtain student, patient or library records. The bill also requires the Attorney General to publish, by January 1, 2027, model policies and guidance for public schools, state postsecondary educational institutions, health care facilities, child care facilities, family child care providers and public libraries related to limiting voluntary assistance with immigration enforcement activity to the fullest extent possible consistent with federal and state law. Public schools, state postsecondary educational institutions, health care facilities, child care facilities, family child care providers and public libraries must adopt the published policies and guidance or establish equivalent policies and guidance within 6 months of the Attorney General's publishing of the model policies and guidance.

This law (Chapter 586) establishes the Suicide Mortality Review Panel, which is a multidisciplinary panel established to review the trends in deaths by suicide of all residents of the State. The panel is charged with reviewing records of cases of confirmed or suspected deaths by suicide and deaths recorded as undetermined in which suicide cannot be ruled out to identify strengths and weaknesses of the system of care and to recommend to the Commissioner of Health and Human Services ways to decrease the rate of deaths by suicide and improve the system for preventing death by suicide, including modifications to law, rules, training, policies and procedures. A report is required to be submitted by January 2nd of each year to the Governor, commissioner and the HHS Committee.

This bill updates and clarifies certain statutes governing employers administering substance use tests, including the following: 1. Requiring that an applicant or employee must be given an opportunity to contest a non-negative result; 2. Requiring that results must be reported to an employer by a medical review officer; 3. Reducing the rehabilitation program opportunity based on a confirmed positive result from 6 months to 12 weeks and placing the sole responsibility of the cost on the employee; 4. Requiring that testing laboratories be able to process blood tests; 5. Allowing an employer that complies with the requirements governing testing facilities to be considered a qualified testing laboratory to collect samples from employees; and 6. Making other technical changes.

This bill expands existing requirements for insurance carriers and the MaineCare program to provide reimbursement for ambulance services to include: 1. Treatment provided on the scene in response to an emergency call, regardless of transport; 2. Care provided by an emergency medical services provider through community paramedicine; and 3. Alternate destination transport to clinically appropriate facilities other than hospital emergency departments. 

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE

This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to establish an emergency rate determination process for services under Section 97, Appendix D and provides funding of $1,000,000 to establish an emergency sustainability fund to stabilize child residential treatment providers in danger of closing a facility or closing beds in a facility.

This law (Chapter 596), based on the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission to Study Emergency Medical Services in the State, reduces the number of members appointed to the Emergency Medical Services' Board, other than the members representing regional councils, from 12 to 5, provides for regular feedback and recommendations from each region and requires the board to report annually by January 1st to the legislature any recommended changes to the Maine Emergency Medical Services Act of 1982 or other necessary changes to improve the provision of emergency medical services and allows the committee to report out legislation based on the board's recommendations.

This bill prohibits the placement of a lien on the principal place of residence of a consumer and prohibits the garnishment of salary or wages of a consumer when the related action is based on medical debt.

This bill is a concept draft that will propose to establish a system to maintain and increase access to nursing home services statewide and to develop strategies to recruit and retain a workforce for nursing homes.

This bill requires emergency medical services educators and emergency medical services training centers to be licensed by the Emergency Medical Services' Board. Current law provides that a person who operates or practices without a license commits a Class E crime. The bill specifies that a person must intentionally, knowingly or recklessly operate or practice without a license to commit a Class E crime. The bill also provides for a civil violation for operating or practicing without a license. It requires rather than allows physicians and hospitals to report trauma information to the board and amends the definition of "regional council" to specify that a council is an entity rather than a business entity.

This bill defines "community paramedicine," "community paramedicine clinician" and "community paramedicine service" and requires community paramedicine clinicians and community paramedicine services to be licensed by the Emergency Medical Services' Board. It establishes minimum requirements for licensure and directs the board to adopt rules governing qualifications and standards.

This bill requires the Maine Vaccine Board to consider vaccines that are recommended by and available through the Northeast Public Health Collaborative  when making its annual determination of vaccines that must be made available through the Universal Immunization Program. If federal funding is not available for certain vaccines under the US CDC, Vaccines for Children Program, the bill also authorizes the Maine Vaccine Board to request state funding to cover the costs of vaccines for children who qualify for vaccines under the Vaccines for Children Program for those vaccines that are recommended by DHHS or the Northeast Public Health Collaborative. The bill provides a pharmacist licensed in this State with immunity from liability for negligence for administering a vaccine that is outside the guidelines recommended by the US CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, as long as the administration of the vaccine is in accordance with guidelines recommended by the State or the Northeast Public Health Collaborative.

This bill provides that the total premium increase for active and retired state employee health insurance for fiscal years ending after June 30, 2026 is limited to no more than any percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index plus 10%. The limitation does not apply to the fully insured Medicare Advantage prescription drug plan.

This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to provide support for federally qualified health centers to develop or expand the centers' capacity to provide access to affordably priced prescription drugs to patients by increasing the centers' ability to deliver pharmacy services to those patients. The bill provides one-time funding of $4,000,000 in fiscal year 2026-27 for that purpose. The bill provides that initial awards of funding must be made by December 15, 2026 and that the selection process must be performed by an evaluation team, the majority of whose members must be persons with training or experience in the operation and management of federally qualified health centers.

ON APPROPRIATIONS TABLE

This bill establishes the Health Information Technology Fund within the Department of Health and Human Services to support the operation and sustainability of a state- designated statewide health information exchange and to meet the State's matching fund requirements to obtain available federal funding for that purpose. The fund is nonlapsing and consists of money appropriated or allocated by the Legislature, federal funds, grants, gifts and other funds from public or private sources. The bill includes an ongoing appropriation of $1,800,000 annually in support of the fund beginning in fiscal year 2026-27.

This resolve provides for legislative review of Chapter 6: Delegation of Nursing Activities and Tasks to Unlicensed Assistive Personnel by Registered Professional Nurses, a major substantive rule of the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, State Board of Nursing.  

Chapter 100 establishes a schedule of fines and other enforcement actions for failure to file clinical, quality, financial, organizational information, health care claims and prescription drug price data; failure to pay the annual assessment; and for intentional or knowing failure to protect the disclosure of confidential or privileged data. This proposed rule change is necessary to comply with the enforcement requirements in  PL 2023, Chapter 584, (LD 1740, “An Act to Protect a Patient’s Access to Affordable Health Care with Timely Access to Health Care Prices”). 

This bill updates certain definitions and rule-making requirements related to the establishment of a MaineCare payment model and the determination of MaineCare reimbursements for covered services.

This bill requires a hospital to provide at least 120 days' notice prior to the termination of maternity or newborn care services or of a change in the level of care a hospital provides for maternity and newborn care services.  It seeks to make existing DHHS voluntary guidelines mandatory.

This bill is DEAD.

This bill expands the criteria considered during a review under the certificate of need laws to include consideration of a project's impact on affordability and accessibility of health care for all Maine residents. The bill also expands the scope of review under the certificate of need laws when there is a change in ownership or control of a health care facility to require a review and analysis of the extent to which the applicant's ownership structure involves a private equity company or real estate investment trust. The bill requires DHHS to contract with a consultant funded by the applicant to review and investigate the prior activities and conduct of the private equity company or real estate investment trust and authorizes the department to consult with the Attorney General. Finally, the bill broadens the authority of the department to conduct subsequent reviews of an applicant for a certificate of need when there is a change in ownership or control of a health care facility.

This bill cuts over $1 Billion from hospital revenue by capping commercial reimbursement in two ways.  First, it limits the annual aggregate growth in all hospital prices to a percentage equal to the inpatient prospective payment system hospital market basket established by the federal Medicare program. It also limits the maximum amount that a hospital may charge or collect for any inpatient or outpatient facility service to no more than 200% of the Medicare rate for the same service in the same geographic area.  Both caps begin January 1, 2028 subject to certain exceptions. 

This bill is DEAD.

This bill prohibits the department from licensing a health care entity that enters into any arrangement with a real estate investment trust for the sale and leaseback of the health care entity’s main campus or primary location to the real estate investment trust. The bill provides an exemption to a hospital that was leasing its main campus from a real estate investment trust prior to July 1, 2026 and provides that a hospital maintains its exempt status after any subsequent transfer.  As drafted, it is not limited to situations involving private equity.

This bill is DEAD.

This bill prohibits any transaction involving a health care entity in which the ratio of debt to equity is greater than 50%.  As drafted, it is not restricted to situations involving private equity.

This bill is DEAD.  This bill prohibits any person from interfering with the professional judgment or clinical decision of a licensed health care professional with independent practice authority.

This bill prohibits noncompete agreements for health care practitioners.

This bill establishes a process for review and approval of transactions when a private equity company, hedge fund or management services organization acquires a majority ownership interest in a health care entity or when a private equity company, hedge fund or management services organization takes operational control over a health care entity.

The bill requires a health care entity to provide notice to the Attorney General about a pending merger or acquisition at the same time the health care entity is required to notify the Federal Trade Commission or the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division in accordance with federal laws and regulations.

This bill:. 1. It establishes the Rural Hospital Stabilization Program to provide grants to defray operating costs for health care providers and health care facilities in rural areas, including start-up costs, incurred in providing inpatient, outpatient, primary, specialty or behavioral health care services to residents of the State and to stabilize the provision of existing health care services when those services are at risk of reduction or elimination.

2. It establishes the Health Care Premium Stabilization Fund to maintain coverage for residents of the State through the Maine Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicaid or other federal assistance programs if the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is repealed or is administered in a way that reduces access to comprehensive health coverage for residents in the State.

3. It establishes the MaineCare Federal Response Fund to supplement funding for the MaineCare program in the event of funding revenue shortfalls due to reductions in federal contributions that support MaineCare programs.

Based on the recommendations of a working group, the bill combines the Board of Licensure in Medicine and Board of Osteopathic Medicine into a single licensing board, known as the Maine Board of Medicine, for all physicians and physician associates effective January 1, 2027. The bill also requires the Board of Licensure in Medicine and Board of Osteopathic Medicine to report on the planning completed by the boards prior to the establishment of the Maine Board of Medicine, including recommendations for any suggested legislation necessary to further implement the merger, to the Governor and to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over professional licensing board matters no later than January 31, 2027. The bill authorizes the committee to report out a bill based on the report to the 133rd Legislature in 2027.