There will be many debates about health care during the upcoming legislative session, which begins on Jan. 7.

I spoke to six health organizations about their top priorities for Maine lawmakers to focus on and what they think will dominate discussion.

Here are 11 of many measures they are focused on. The bills were introduced last session and are being brought back in 2026:

Health care workforce bills

— L.D. 1932: An Act to Support Essential Support Workers and Enhance Workforce Development

L.D. 1932, which is sponsored by House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, would increase the MaineCare reimbursement rate for essential support workers, who work directly with clients in home and community-based settings, from 125 percent of minimum wage to 140 percent. The bill would also require a biennial report that estimates the actual cost of providing all long-term care services. The measure was carried over last session without a public hearing. AARP Maine and the Maine Council on Aging said they support this measure.

— L.D. 581: An Act to Fund the Doctors for Maine’s Future Scholarship Program

MaineHealth, the state’s largest health system, is supporting L.D. 581, which would allocate $300,000 in annual funds to maintain the Doctor for Maine’s Future Scholarship Fund, which provides medical school scholarships for eligible students. 

— L.D. 1311: An Act to Expand Maine’s Health Care Workforce by Improving Educational Opportunities

MaineHealth and Northern Light Health, the state’s second largest health system, are supporting L.D. 1311, which would establish the Maine Health Care Education Training and Medical Residency Fund with $1.95 million annually. This fund would aim to bolster the rural health care workforce by supporting clinical rotations for students in rural and underserved communities, expanding rural residency positions for medical school graduates in the state, and offering grants for innovative solutions and technological advancements to expand clinical education.

— L.D. 1281: An Act to Address the Safety of Nurses and Improve Patient Care by Enacting the Maine Quality Care Act

MaineHealth is opposed to L.D. 1281, which would establish minimum staffing requirements for registered nurses based on patient care unit and patient needs. The Maine nurses union has previously called for nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, saying they improve patient outcomes and decrease injuries for both patients and nurses. 

Bills related to public health and access to care

— L.D. 1847: An Act to Institute Testing and Tracking of Medical Use Cannabis and Cannabis Products Similar to Adult Use Cannabis and Cannabis Products, Dedicate a Portion of the Adult Use Cannabis Sales and Excise Tax to Medical Use Cannabis Programs and Create a Study Group

The Maine Medical Association and Maine Public Health Association are supporting L.D. 1847, which would impose the same testing and tracking provisions used for adult-use cannabis on medical-use cannabis. The adult-use program in Maine requires testing for contaminants and potency, and includes potency limits, while the medical-use program requires neither.

— L.D. 754: An Act to Ban the Sale, Use and Possession of Single-use Electronic Cigarettes and to Review Extended Producer Responsibility Options for All Batteries

The Maine Public Health Association is supporting this measure to prohibit the sale, use and possession of single-use electronic nicotine delivery devices such as e-cigarettes and vape pens. Matt Wellington, associate director of the association, said these items are classified as hazardous waste because they have lithium batteries and residual nicotine. 

— L.D. 1803: An Act to Amend the Laws Governing Optometric Practice

Dr. Patrick Connolly, a family physician at Martin’s Point and co-chair of the Maine Medical Association advocacy committee, said his organization is opposing L.D. 1803, which would allow optometrists to do certain ophthalmic procedures. He said these surgeries should only be done by ophthalmologists because they have the necessary training to do them. Optometrists, meanwhile, have argued that Maine has more limits compared with in other states, and allowing optometrists to perform more procedures will help retain them in the state and boost access to eye care.

— L.D. 1496: An Act to Ensure Ongoing Access to Medications and Care for Chronic Conditions and Conditions Requiring Long-term Care by Changing Requirements for Prior Authorizations

The Maine Medical Association, Northern Light Health and MaineHealth are supporting L.D. 1496, which would prohibit health insurance carriers from requiring a new prior authorization for a chronic condition more frequently than every three years.

Funding measures

— L.D. 814: An Act to Provide Funding to Area Agencies on Aging for Community-based Services and Programs to Support Older Adults

The Maine Council on Aging and AARP Maine are supporting L.D. 814, which would provide $9.75 million in annual funding for programs that deliver services for older adults. The funding would support the area agencies on aging, which provide programs such as Meals on Wheels, Medicare navigation, respite support for caregivers and day programs. Last year, lawmakers gave them $3 million in one-time funding.

— L.D. 1658: An Act to Preserve and Strengthen the Fund for a Healthy Maine

The Maine Public Health Association is supporting this bill, which would require revenue from taxes on cigarettes and tobacco to be allocated to the Fund for a Healthy Maine up to the amount necessary to ensure the fund has at least $65 million annually from all sources of revenue. The Fund for a Healthy Maine was established to support and promote public health and prevention efforts. Lawmakers increased the tobacco tax by $1.50 last legislative session.

— L.D. 331: Resolve, Directing the Department of Health and Human Services to Ensure Timely Reimbursement Under MaineCare Regarding Hospital Cost Reports

This bill, which Northern Light Health said it is supporting, would require the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to reimburse at least 75 percent of a hospital’s eligible costs within 90 days. The measure includes a one-time allocation from the state’s general fund of $51 million to accelerate the payment of outstanding MaineCare reimbursements to hospitals.

This story was originally published by The Maine Monitor, a nonprofit civic news organization. To get regular coverage from The Monitor, sign up for a free Monitor newsletter here.