State of Maine Archives: on Health Care

Sara Gideon: Strongly oppose raising Medicare eligibility age

Gideon: We've taken steps in the state House to protect our seniors, by restoring Maine's low-cost prescription drug program and passing legislation to prevent insurance companies from overcharging seniors for health care. I will strongly oppose efforts to raise the Medicare eligibility age. I'll work to cap out-of-pocket costs of prescription drugs for seniors on Medicare and continue to champion the Affordable Care Act, which closed the Medicare donut hole.

Sara Gideon: Let Medicare negotiate drug prices; allow imports

Gideon: I'll fight to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, to cap out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs for seniors on Medicare and to work to implement the low-cost drug importation program on the federal level that we've already passed in Maine.

Susan Collins: Improve advance transparency on medical billing

A: Congress needs to take steps to improve Medicare's financial condition. We should improve transparency so that patients know in advance the cost of any medical procedure or prescription drug. Another way to achieve program savings is to combat the high cost of prescription drugs. That's why I support putting a cap on the out-of-pocket costs that seniors pay under the Medicare program. We can also help reduce costs by assisting seniors in managing diseases such as diabetes.

Susan Collins: Authored law letting pharmacists help patients save money

Collins: I've authored multiple laws to help Americans struggling with the high cost of medications, including a law that bans 'gag clauses,' which prevented pharmacists from telling their patients when there might be a way to save money on their prescriptions. I support promoting competition, increasing transparency and banning the anticompetitive practices such as pay-for-delay. I support capping the amount that seniors pay out of pocket for prescription drugs.

Susan Collins: Strong supporter of home care

Collins: Expanded access to home health care allows many seniors to stay right where they want to be: in the comfort, privacy and security of their own homes. I've always been a strong supporter of home care. My Home Health Planning Improvement Act was recently signed into law as part of the COVID-19 response. It will improve Medicare beneficiaries' access to home health care, removing needless delays.

Sara Gideon: Let government negotiate to lower cost of drugs

Susan Collins: Helped pass law lowering drug prices, speeding generics

Sara Gideon: Complete the work started under Affordable Care Act

Sara believes we need to complete the work we started under the Affordable Care Act and in the Senate, she will fight to:
• Expand access to quality and affordable health care to every person including those with pre-existing conditions;
• Allow anyone to choose to buy into Medicare through a newly created public option, while preserving the choice for those who like their private insurance to keep it; and
• Crack down on big drug companies to lower the cost of prescription drugs.

Paul LePage: COVID: Spoke against shutdown while quarantined in car

Paul LePage: Almost eradicated public health nursing in Maine

Sara Gideon: Reduce prescription costs; protect pre-existing conditions

Sara Gideon: Public option for Medicare, but not Medicare-for-All

Janet Mills: Medicaid expansion helps everyone

Janet Mills: Expanding MaineCare helps needy & helps hospitals

Betsy Sweet: Supports universal coverage including alternative therapies

• Fund the Expansion of Medicaid Immediately
• Support Universal In-Home Care which will dramatically increase the quality of life of those in need of care, and of the (mostly women) caregivers.
• Cut costs by promoting healthy living: sleep, exercise, nutritious food, three free prescriptions!
• Increase support to our Community Based Mental Health system to provide the most effective treatment and to avoid ineffective and expensive hospital and incarceration costs.
• Support alternative therapies for stress reduction, pain management and addiction such as acupuncture, massage, Reiki.

Shawn Moody: Wants health insurance open to competition amongst states

Shawn Moody: Citizen referendum decided Medicaid expansion: make it work

Zak Ringelstein: ObamaCare helped; but supports Medicare single payer

Chris Lyons: Insurance companies benefit from ObamaCare; people don't

1. It did not reduce the cost of healthcare
2. It did not reduce the cost of health insurance
3. It did not provide the best medical care for all at a reasonable and affordable cost
4. The cost of prescriptions have skyrocketed.

Chris Lyons: Oppose ObamaCare

A: oppose

Paul LePage: Budgetary limits on Medicaid expansion

We must fund Medicaid expansion in a way that is sustainable and ongoing. Therefore, my principles are as follows:
1. No tax increases on Maine families or businesses.
2. No use of the Budget Stabilization Fund (which we call the "Rainy Day Fund").
3. No use of other one-time funding mechanisms--known as budget gimmicks.
4. Full funding for vulnerable Mainers who are still waiting for services, and no reduction of services or funding for our nursing homes or people with disabilities.

Mary Mayhew: Absolutely opposed to Medicaid expansion

Helping able-bodied adults return to the workforce should be the priority, which will leave more resources for the elderly and disabled, she said.

Janet Mills: Her office took on drug manufacturer Mylan on price gouging

Eric Brakey: Do better than backdoor deals that led to ObamaCare

Eric Brakey: Apply principles of freedom to broken healthcare system

Bruce Poliquin: Replace ObamaCare with cross-state & group insurance

• Promote competition among insurance companies to lower monthly premiums
• Allow purchase of health insurance across state lines
• Help those who can't afford coverage with subsidies
• End ObamaCare exemption for Congress.

One alternative to ObamaCare is to allow families to shop across state lines to buy the health insurance that fits our needs at a price we can afford, just like purchasing automobile insurance. Small businesses should also be allowed to band together to buy coverage.

Shenna Bellows: Supports ObamaCare & universal health coverage

• I Support Universal Health Coverage: My mother went back to school to become a nurse, and I've seen up close how much good we can do in Maine when we expand healthcare coverage. I support universal access to affordable healthcare for all Americans including acute, chronic, preventative, and long-term care. The Affordable Care Act is an important first step toward universal coverage, but it needs to be improved to expand coverage to all people and simplify the process for signing up.

• Protecting Patients and Ending the Repeal Debate: Republican Susan Collins voted against the Affordable Care Act and continues to call for full repeal of the law years after it became law--without offering a replacement solution.

• Expanding Medicare and Medicaid: The federal government should be negotiating drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies, which would reduce costs for patients and save us billions of taxpayer dollars a year that now pad Big Pharma's bottom line.

Eliot Cutler: Universal access to essential health care services

Cynthia Dill: Medicaid and Medicare programs need to be strengthened

Dill called for fair tax policies that require the wealthy to pay their fair share, and cuts in military spending such as for weapons systems. "When it comes to Medicaid and Medicare, those are programs that need to be strengthened," she said.

Charlie Summers: 100% deductible cross-state insurance instead of ObamaCare

Matt Dunlap: ObamaCare individual mandate is constitutional

Paul LePage: MaineCare recipients contribute to statewide health coverage

John Baldacci: Ensure access to basic health care

Indicate which principles you support regarding health.
• Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary.
• Support patients’ right to sue their HMOs.
• Continue to support Dirigo Health in Maine.