AUGUSTA, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today joined health professionals and advocates at Maine Veterans’ Home in Augusta to discuss ways to lower the high cost of drugs and increase transparency of drug prices. During the conversation, Senator King outlined his support for the Drug-Price Transparency in Communications Act and the Creating and Restoring Equal Access To Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act. The Drug-Price Transparency in Communications Act would require prices to... Continue Reading »
PORTLAND, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today joined patients, health care providers and advocates at Martin’s Point Health Care in Portland to discuss efforts to reduce health insurance premiums and stabilize the marketplace under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “The Affordable Care Act has helped millions of Americans get health care coverage, but still, there is more work to be done,”... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) last week joined a group of his Senate colleagues to write to the nation’s top health insurers urging them to do their part to combat the opioid epidemic. In an effort to hold the insurance industry accountable, the Senators asked the companies to both review their existing policies in light of the epidemic, and to take additional steps to make sure they are working actively to help curb addiction. “Unfortunately,... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The office of U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) released the February edition of his Inside Maine podcast. This month Senator King is joined by Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Holly DeYoung, the CEO of Eastport Health Care, to discuss the vital role Community Health Centers (CHCs) play in our nation’s healthcare system. CHCs, also known as federally qualified health centers, are a critical part of the nation’s primary care network, serving... Continue Reading »
FARMINGTON, ME – During a visit to Woodlands Memory Care of Farmington today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) announced his support for the Building Our Largest Dementia Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act, or the BOLD Instrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act. The bipartisan legislation, introduced in November by Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), aims to create an Alzheimer’s public health infrastructure across the country to... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today announced his support for the Opioid Response Enhancement Act to help states and tribal communities better fight the opioid epidemic that is ravaging communities and families across this country. This reform would expand a grant program that was created as part of the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act of 2017 and ensure states and tribes have access to continued and additional funding for the next five years under... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that two Maine organizations will receive a total of $2,760,206 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Head Start and Early Head Start programs across the state. Midcoast Maine Community Action, based in Bath, received $1,422,044, and Androscoggin Head Start and Child Care, based in Lewiston, received $1,338,162. “Head Start programs across our state are instrumental in ensuring that... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded four Maine organizations a total of $1,343,036 in grant funding to support rural educational and health care services. The funding, awarded through the USDA’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program, helps rural communities leverage the capabilities of telecommunications to stay connected, support their communities, and grow the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) urged Senate leaders to continue funding the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF) at current levels. The letter comes as the Congress discusses a plan to continue funding the government that threatens to cut $6.35 billion in funding from the PPHF. “Prevention remains one of the key means by which our nation can combat public health outbreaks and emergencies,” Senator King wrote in the letter.... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Angus King (I-Maine) and healthcare assisters working to sign Maine people up for healthcare through the Affordable Care Act have received additional guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, telling them that people in Maine affected by October’s wind storm can sign up for coverage through December 31st, and will not require any additional documentation to qualify. The new information provides an update to CMS Administrator Seema... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today joined health professionals, parents, and advocates at Greater Portland Health in Portland to underscore the importance of fully funding the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and reauthorizing funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). Federal funding for CHIP expired at the end of September, putting millions of low-income children across the country at risk of losing their health coverage. Funding for... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded two grants totaling $727,846 to Greater Portland Health. The Department’s Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) will grant $581,024 to Greater Portland Health through its Health Center Cluster program and $146,822 through its Ryan White Part C Outpatient EIS program. “Community health centers, like Greater... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Ben Cardin (D-Maryland), along with Tom Udall (D-New Mexico) today reintroduced the Preventive Health Savings Act, legislation that would direct the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to more accurately reflect the cost-savings of preventive healthcare, including health screenings. “Congress has recently spent a lot of time debating the best methods of paying for healthcare, and for... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) spoke on the Senate floor about the importance of funding Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), which provide vital health care services to rural communities. Seventy percent of federal funding for FQHCs expired on October 1st, threatening access to health care for tens of thousands of people in Maine. “In Maine, we have 20 centers, and 70 facilities scattered all over our state and they are providing services every... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine) joined a bipartisan group of 30 senators in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, asking him to provide Congress with information detailing how the Department of Justice (DOJ) is supporting and prioritizing forensic science service providers across the nation as a part of a broader approach to combat the opioid epidemic. “The opioid crisis knows no boundaries; it reaches into homes in every... Continue Reading »
BANGOR, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today announced that he sent a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma to request an extension of the 2018 Affordable Care Act open enrollment period for Maine. The request comes following a severe storm caused more than 400,000 people in Maine to lose power as the shortened open enrollment period began. “As you may know, a severe storm with hurricane-force winds recently hit Maine causing historic,... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Angus King (I-Maine) announced that he led a letter to President Donald Trump with Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and a group of 19 senators, calling on the President to support additional funding necessary to combat the opioid epidemic. “We appreciate your formal declaration that the opioid epidemic is a National Public Health Emergency. While this is a positive step forward, more action must be taken in order to... Continue Reading »
LEWISTON, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today continued his open enrollment information tour during a press conference at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston to provide information to Maine citizens about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) open enrollment period, which began on November 1st and ends on December 15th. The press conference featured health care professionals and advocates, application assisters, and health care providers and... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined 21 of his colleagues in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) calling on them to protect the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF) and ensure it is not used to offset the costs of reauthorizing important bipartisan health initiatives. The U.S. House of Representatives has proposed cutting 75 percent of the Prevention and Public Health Fund as part of... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) released the following statement in response to the Trump Administration’s move to declare the opioid epidemic as a public health emergency. “Opioid abuse is a slow-moving hurricane that envelops the entire nation, and with each loss leaves another community and family wrecked in its wake. The President’s declaration of a national public health emergency is a strong indication that this administration is turning... Continue Reading »
