Another busy week at Maine's State House as the legislature continues to work through bills and the State's budget.  

 

This week the Maine Health Care Association monitored work sessions on the MaineCare sections of the Supplemental budget in the Committee on Health and Human Services (HHS). The HHS committee is expected to vote Thursday (after the publishing of this) on portions of the budget and send those votes to Appropriations and Financial Services who then take HHS's review into consideration and further deliberate the budget.  

 

In addition to the HHS committee, MHCA put in many hours on a series of bills heard this week in the Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services (HCIFS). HCIFS held work sessions on eight bills that were born out of an off-session commission, of which MHCA CEO/President Angela Westhoff was a named member. The Commission to Evaluate Regulatory Review and Oversight of Health Care Transactions, which formed through law in the first session of this current Legislature, met five times in the fall of 2025, with numerous goals focusing on the review and potential need for changes to Maine's certificate of need laws, specifically related to the impact of private equity and/or real estate investment trusts. As part of their work, the commission, in their final report, recommended the HCIFS consider legislation aimed at regulation and oversight of private equity and real estate investment trusts and healthcare. The commission's recommendation ultimately turned into the eight bills that had work sessions this week. Strong efforts on behalf of the MHCA team ensured positive outcomes for nursing facilities as part of these bills.  

 

As always, feel free to reach out with questions. 
 

Staff contact: ablack[at]mehca.org