Trump keeps crossing line after line

Is there a red line that Trump is not allowed to cross? It doesn’t appear so. Congressional Republicans have ceded to him most of their power in less than 100 days. They are allowing his puppet master, Musk, to destroy federally mandated and/or approved agencies such as USAID, CDC, NIH, OPM etc. Hundreds of experts were recently cut from NOAA. At least 40 people died in recent storms in the South. Perhaps some of those lives may have been spared if NOAA had been intact.

Republicans representatives have been advised NOT to meet with their constituents who are angry over cuts to services that these representatives allowed to happen. Republicans can’t face the heat from the people they were elected to serve! They don’t have the courage to meet with their own voters! Maine’s own Susan Collins hasn’t had a town hall in over 20 years! She is not responding to the many emails and phone calls her offices receive. I know because I have been doing both since Jan. 21, 2025, and have yet to get a response.

Trump is testing the boundaries of his office every day. He and his administration claim the president is the highest law — above the Supreme Court and federal laws, Congress and the Constitution!

In school, I learned there were three CO-EQUAL branches of power in our government. At what point will Congress take back the power of the people and say “ENOUGH!”? Where is the line?

Barb Osen,
Orr’s Island

Support LD 107 for specialized cancer care

As an Oncology Social Work Navigator, I witness firsthand the many ways a cancer diagnosis can take a toll on a person — and know how important individualized, tailored treatment is not only for a patient’s quality of life but for overall health outcomes.

On March 25, lawmakers will hear from dozens of Mainers — coming together for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s (ACS CAN) annual Cancer Action Day — about legislation that can help improve access to this type of specialized treatment, known as biomarker testing.

Biomarker testing helps many patients facing serious diseases get the right treatment at the right time. When it comes to cancer, this testing often allows doctors to precisely target a specific cancer so patients may not have to undergo more generalized treatments like chemo and radiation that may not work as well for them.

By ensuring more Mainers have biomarker testing covered by their insurance plans, we can increase access to personalized medicine and realize better outcomes for cancer patients as well other disease groups. Already 20 states have passed legislation ensuring insurance coverage of this lifesaving test, and it’s time for Maine to do the same.

As we look towards Cancer Action Day, I urge you to contact your lawmakers and ask them to support LD 107 — ensuring all Mainers have access to the most effective, individualized treatment available for their specific condition.

Mikala Bousquet, LCSW,
volunteer, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network,
Topsham

Medicare should cover anti-obesity medications

Obesity is a chronic disease and should be treated as such. It also increases the risk of other, dangerous chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is currently considering a rule that would allow Medicare to cover safe and effective anti-obesity medications. Such a rule would improve the health of thousands of Maine seniors who are battling obesity and help them to live happier, healthier lives.

The current rule to prohibit Medicare from covering anti-obesity medications is outdated and discriminatory and should be modernized to reflect the effectiveness of new treatment options.

Two-thirds of Maine people are carrying extra weight that has negative consequences on their health, and nearly 1 in 3 have obesity. We have not determined a cause for obesity but we know that genetics plays a big role.

And the costs are clear, in terms of lost and diminished lives and pressure on health care spending. An economic study from 2011 estimated that obesity costs Maine more than $450 million a year, a figure that is surely to have risen as the obesity epidemic has gotten worse.

Working with the Maine Obesity Advisory Council, our research found that for every $1 spent on the prevention of chronic disease saves $5.60 in health care spending and returns $7.50 to the economy.

Members of Maine’s congressional delegation, and especially U.S. Sen. Susan Collins as the chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee, are well-positioned to make this important health care advance a reality.

Anti-obesity medications, combined with other health care supports, are an effective treatment against obesity. For Medicare to continue to deny coverage will limit the ability of seniors to access this medicine and will lead to worse health outcomes and a greater economic strain on our country.

Dr. Matija Burtis,
Adult Obesity Medicine, Maine Health Weight Management,
Brunswick