JACKMAN, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today met with local business leaders, town officials, health professionals and community members in Jackman to hear their concerns about the health care crisis facing the Jackman community. Senator King toured the Jackman Community Health Center, where Penobscot Community Health Care (PCHC) now operates as the town’s sole emergency medicine provider, and hosted a roundtable discussion on the challenges related to the decreased availability of health care services with town leaders at the Jackman Town Office.

“Hearing from people throughout Jackman is a sobering reminder of the struggles our residents in rural Maine face when it comes to receiving even the most basic of health services,” Senator King said. “With many hardworking men and women in the region engaged in traditional Maine industries and pastimes – from working at the sawmill, to hunting or snowmobiling – overnight emergency care is critical to ensuring they can safely do their jobs, support their families, and live a happy, healthy life. Today’s meetings provided important insight into what needs to be done to ensure the community receives the health care services it needs, and put a spotlight on just how critical it is that the Senate finds a solution that will ensure people have reasonable, affordable access to basic health services close to home.”

Senator King’s visit follows the September 1^st shuttering of the town’s only overnight emergency care facility and ambulance services. MaineGeneral Health previously ran a nursing home and operated overnight urgent care out of the facility. The loss of overnight urgent care in Jackman would require residents to drive at least an hour away to facilities in Skowhegan or Greenville. PCHC has budgeted funds to support overnight care and emergency medical availability in Jackman through the end of 2017.

Senator King began the day meeting with management at the Moose River Lumber Mill in Jackman to discuss its operations and how the health care issues facing the community affect the business and its employees. The mill announced in the spring it would add a second shift and hire up to 20 new workers starting this fall. Many of these employees are now faced with the prospect of starting the night shift without guaranteed access to overnight care.

As the Senate debates potential paths forward on health care, Senator King has been a staunch advocate for increased support of rural health services. He has met with hospital administrators and health professionals in Bridgton, Lincoln, Skowhegan, Eastport and Machias to discuss the impact changes to the Affordable Care Act would have on rural Maine clinics, hospitals, patients, and local economies. Senator King has opposed several attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and has repeatedly called on his colleagues to engage in bipartisan discussions to make meaningful improvements to the law rather than rushing to repeal it.

“The health care proposal before the Senate right now does two things: it shifts all the responsibility to the states to care for the most vulnerable Americans and gives the states less money to help them,” Senator King said. “According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 229,000 people in Maine who are too young to qualify for Medicare may face discrimination if this bill passes. No one should have to face higher health insurance costs because they have recovered from cancer or had a birth defect. This bill will be devastating to Maine families, but will also cost us jobs at rural hospitals and health clinics throughout the state.”

This summer, the Senate voted against a proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act by a vote of 51-49. Following the vote, Senator King outlined a roadmap of health care priorities to stabilize the health care marketplace and lower the underlying costs of treatment and health coverage for people in Maine and across the country.

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