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Protections for abortion providers, new regulations for urgent care clinics signed into law
As the legislative session is expected to wind down, Gov. Janet Mills has already signed a number of bills into law, including ones that will establish new standards for urgent care facilities, requirements for review of serious injuries and deaths under public guardianship and protections for healthcare providers who prescribe certain abortion medication.
Here are a few notable health care bills that were passed and signed into law.
L.D. 51: An Act to Increase Oversight of Fatalities of and Serious Injuries to Adults Subject to Public Guardianship
This new law requires the Aging and Disability Mortality Review Panel to review all deaths and serious injuries to adults in public guardianship (the state can take over guardianship of adults who are deemed incapacitated, adults with disabilities and people with debilitating mental illness). Until now, a review was only required for adults enrolled in home-based and community programs.
Rep. Dan Shagoury, a Democrat who sponsored the bill, said in his testimony that expanding review will "help to further protect one of Maine’s vulnerable populations.”
Submitted testimony was largely in support of the changes, which come after a 2023 Maine Monitor investigation into Maine’s probate court system found that eight adults under public guardianship of the state had died in unexplained ways over the course of three years. In response, state lawmakers called for better oversight of guardians and reform to the probate courts.
L.D. 709: An Act to Establish the Respite for ME Program
The Respite for ME program, which provides support and resources for family caregivers, will now be permanent. Respite for ME was initially a two-year pilot program that launched in 2022 and was funded through Gov. Janet Mills’ Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, using $5.1 million in American Rescue Plan funds. It offered grants up to $5,171 to those providing care to a loved one at home, which could be used for temporary caregivers, counseling, training, financial guidance and assistive technology.
Caregivers told The Maine Monitor at the time that these funds were a lifeline for overwhelmed family members who rarely have time or resources to take care of themselves.
Rep. Kristen Cloutier, a Democrat who sponsored the bill, said it would establish a “critically important program into state law so that all available federal, state and local resources can be utilized.” She also sponsored a separate bill, L.D. 815, which would allocate $2.25 million annually to support the program. That legislation is currently on the Appropriations Table, which means it still needs to be approved by lawmakers to be fully funded.
Numerous caregivers who had used the respite program submitted testimony in support of L.D. 709. No testimony in opposition was submitted.
L.D. 67: An Act to Establish Minimum Standards for Certain Urgent Care Facilities
Under this new law, urgent care facilities will be licensed for the first time, making them subject to standards of care and requirements around safety and transparency.
Rep. Michele Meyer, a Democrat who sponsored the bill, said this measure will “help to better ensure quality of care, safety, and patient rights in urgent care facilities across the state.”
The facilities, including Convenient MD or UFC Urgent Care South Portland, are not part of hospital or a physician’s office and don’t care for patients overnight. They will now be licensed under the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
A spokesperson for Convenient MD testified in opposition to the bill, citing a “lack of details” beyond impacted facilities, implementation date and licensing fee structure. They wondered why certain providers were exempted, how the department would establish standards and whether they would have a chance to provide input on the final standards.
L.D. 960: Resolve, to Allow the Placement of Hospitalized Patients in Nursing Facilities in Alternative Locations Under Certain Circumstances
This law aims to reduce barriers for hospital patients who are cleared to be discharged to a nursing home to find a bed. It will eliminate the requirement for someone covered by MaineCare (two-thirds of Maine’s nursing home residents relied on MaineCare for coverage last year) to be placed in a nursing home within 60 miles from their home. The law will also reduce the processing time for a MaineCare member to be placed in a nursing home from 45 days down to 30 days.
These changes come at a time when nursing homes in Maine are closing at a rapid rate and hospitals are seeing a backlog in patients who are ready to be discharged but cannot find placement in nursing homes.
Rep. Kathy Javner, a Republican who sponsored the bill, said in her testimony that delays in placements “not only limit the availability of hospital beds for patients requiring acute care but also create undue stress on families and unnecessary costs for the healthcare system.”
The measure also expedites the process of initiating emergency guardianship proceedings, which can currently cause delays in discharges.
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services testified against the bill, saying emergency guardianship proceedings provide “considerably less due process to an individual and family members than regular guardianship proceedings, and for this reason, they are used sparingly.” Expanding when these emergency petitions can be filed would not necessarily lead to more discharges, they said, and reducing the time to process a long-term care application could result in increased denials.
L.D. 538: An Act to Amend Maine's Prescription Drug Labeling Law by Allowing the Removal of the Name of a Prescriber of Mifepristone, Misoprostol and Their Generic Alternatives
Health care providers will now be able to request their name be removed from labels for abortion medication mifepristone, misoprostol and their generic alternatives. Their names can be replaced with the health care facility instead of the practitioner.
Sen. Anne Carney, a Democrat and one of the sponsors, said this bill was necessary to protect health care providers against lawsuits.
“Keeping the provider's name anonymous is a necessary protection in these difficult times when attacks on abortion care access are persisting across the country and prescribers of these medications are facing real threats,” she said in her testimony.
The Retail Association of Maine, which represents a number of independent and chain retail pharmacies, testified against the bill. The group said it did not take issue with the intent of the bill, but said that unintended consequences could put pharmacies at risk of violating federal branding laws and would require substantial changes to software systems designed to comply with current federal and state regulations.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland also testified against the bill, saying the prescription should not be treated any differently than other prescribed drugs.
“The proponents of abortion consider it healthcare so it should be treated as such and held to the same standards.”
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