SANFORD — Health care, broadband, education needs and more topped the list of topics Sanford officials addressed earlier this week in a meeting with U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree’s staff.

Southern Maine Health Care President Ed McGeachey expressed frustration during the Thursday meeting about reimbursement rates for Medicare and MaineCare that he said hamper the delivery of health care services in Sanford and many other communities in Maine.

Maine hospitals are 46th in the nation in the amount of money they receive from Medicare, he said, pointing out that New Hampshire and Vermont are 49th and 50th, respectively.

“We’re consistently told we are paid less because it costs less to provide (services) here,” he said.

That isn’t true, he said, adding that the only hospitals in Maine that aren’t struggling are those designated as “critical access” hospitals, which receive cost-based reimbursements. Most of those hospitals have a smaller number of inpatient beds than do acute care hospitals, and patient stays are shorter.

Southern Maine Health Care closed inpatient beds at the Sanford campus, formerly known as Goodall Hospital, in October. McGeachey told the congressional staff that the Sanford campus was determined to be one mile too close to the Biddeford campus to qualify as a critical access hospital.

The “community needs” discussion was among three the 10 staffers hosted in Pingree’s sprawling First Congressional District – the others were in Scarborough and Bath.

Pingree is a member of the Appropriations Committee. The staffers explained the appropriations process and their roles, such as helping organizations find possible sources of grant funding for projects, and submitting support letters on behalf of constituents for projects that would make an impact on the district.

Sanford City Manager Steve Buck spoke of the importance of broadband to the city, which is investing in a 32-mile, 10-gig municipal broadband network and is looking to the Economic Development Administration “as a financial partner.”

He also noted that heroin is impacting Sanford – and its police, emergency medical personnel and other departments – as it is other municipalities in Maine.

Buck praised the Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields program, which assists communities in assessing and cleaning up former waste sites.

Kimber Colton, a Pingree staff in her Washington, D.C. office, said the Brownfields program is a top priority.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].