AUGUSTA — On Feb. 24, Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, introduced two bills to help support and protect young families in Maine. LD 372, “An Act To Provide Maine Children Access to Affordable Health Care,” and LD 265, “An Act To Provide Women Access to Affordable Postpartum Care,” were the subject of public hearings before the Legislature’s Committee on Health and Human Services.

“Starting and raising a family can be a daunting task in the best of times. When parents are facing financial hardships, the problems and concerns just compound,” said Carney who represents part of Scarborough. “It’s my hope that these two bills will help ease some of the burden on Maine families as they do all they can to keep themselves and their children healthy.”

LD 372 would make several changes to the Cub Care program, also known as the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Those changes include expanding the maximum eligibility level for family income from 200 percent of the federal poverty level to 300 percent of the federal poverty level; eliminating the three-month waiting period for enrollment after the loss of employer-based coverage; expanding coverage through ages 19 and 20; and eliminating premium payments.

LD 265 would extend the period of time after giving birth that a mother may be eligible for services under MaineCare from 60 days to 12 months. The bill also directs the Department of Health and Human Services to submit a waiver or state plan amendment request to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to implement this change.

“Between the lack of sleep, the pediatric visits, the immunization schedule and a plan for how to go back to work and afford childcare, the last thing a new mom is considering is herself. She has embarked on the phase of life which includes knowing selfless love, and for many this means their own health care comes last,” said Sen. Stacy Brenner, D-Scarborough, a nurse-midwife who is a co-sponsor of LD 265. “Missing the postpartum follow-up visit could mean a missed opportunity for a woman to connect with her nurse-midwife to set up long term follow up for high blood pressure, diabetes or a debilitating depression. Long term, this can have grave impacts on child development. A well cared for, healthy mother will parent better and arrive each day and night with more agency to care for her family.”

In addition, the Legislature’s Committee on Environment and Natural Resources approved a bill from Carney to require drug manufacturers to operate drug take-back programs. The bill received bipartisan support, with eight committee members in favor, two in favor as amended, and two opposed.

“We can keep unwanted drugs from contributing to substance use disorder and from contaminating our water by adopting this bill,” said Carney. “Six states and many municipalities have already enacted similar programs for unwanted drugs. These programs have proven to be a safe, effective and inexpensive way to address public health and environmental harms caused by improper disposal of unwanted or unused drugs. I’m glad the committee has supported such a valuable bill.”

LD 8, “An Act to Support Collection and Proper Disposal of Unwanted Drugs,” mandates that specific drug manufacturers work together to create a drug take-back program that is more frequent and reliable than drug take-back programs currently in use. Its purpose is to protect against the inappropriate use of drugs, especially by minors, and to account for the environmental concerns based on the way drugs are currently disposed of in Maine. This bill originally was introduced in the 129th Legislature by then-Sen. Geoff Gratwick, D-Bangor. LD 8 is an updated version of the previous bill, reflecting extensive work with many stakeholders.

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