There is no question that our nation’s health care system requires substantial reform. The status quo of soaring health care costs, struggling families, and health care provider shortages across Maine and the nation is unacceptable. Senator Collins frequently works with her colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address these and other important issues facing our nation such as improved mental health care, drug treatment programs, supporting America’s caregivers, and nutrition programs.

As a native to northern Maine, Senator Collins understands the specific challenges that rural communities face for medical care. Throughout her time in the Senate, Senator Collins has consistently supported programs to expand access to and improve the health care system, particularly for citizens living in rural areas. 

As a freshman legislator, Senator Collins founded the Senate Diabetes Caucus and has since led the effort to more than triple federal funding for diabetes research.

Collins, Klobuchar, Rosen Introduce Bill to Increase Number of Doctors in Rural and Other Medically Underserved Areas

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) joined Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) in introducing bipartisan legislation to boost the number of doctors able to work in rural America. The Conrad State 30 & Physician Access Act would allow international doctors to remain in the United States upon completing their residency under the condition that they practice in underserved areas, such as rural communities.

 

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Reducing the Cost of Prescription Drugs

While driving with two of her sons in the car recently, Michelle Dehetre, a mother of five from Lewiston who has Type 1 diabetes, had a frightening experience that has become all too common for her: she began to feel very faint.  Fortunately, no one was injured, and paramedics quickly arrived on the scene to take her to the emergency room. 

 

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Bipartisan Improving HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act Introduced by Collins, Stabenow, Markey, Capito, Menendez

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) today introduced the bipartisan Improving HOPE (Health, Outcomes, Planning, and Education) for Alzheimer’s Act. Thanks to a successful bipartisan push by lawmakers, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced in November 2016 that Medicare would begin covering new care plans in 2017, effectively implementing the HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act.

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Senators Collins, King Announce $2.3 Million Grant to Combat Opioid Epidemic in Maine

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded the State of Maine $2.3 million to help combat the opioid epidemic.  The State Opioid Response grants are administered by HHS’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) and aim to address the opioid crisis by increasing medication-assisted treatment.

 

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Senator Collins Joins Bipartisan Group in Introducing Legislation to Protect Seniors from High Costs of Necessary Medical Care

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) joined Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) in introducing bipartisan legislation to update a current loophole in Medicare policy that would help protect seniors from high medical costs for the skilled nursing care they require after hospitalization.

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Bipartisan Group of Senators Launch Effort to Stop Patent Gaming & Increase Access to Lower-Cost Drugs

Washington, D.C.—In a bipartisan effort to encourage competition in the prescription drug marketplace and put an end to the harmful patent strategies that block new drugs from coming to market, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced the Biologic Patent Transparency Act.  The legislation was cosponsored by Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).

 

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Senators Collins, King Join Bipartisan Group in Introducing Legislation to Combat Rising Prescription Drug Prices

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine) joined a bipartisan group in introducing legislation to combat anticompetitive practices used by some brand-name drug companies to block entry of lower-cost generic drugs. 

 

The Creating and Restoring Equal Access To Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act would deter pharmaceutical companies from blocking cheaper generic alternatives from entering the marketplace. 

 

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Legislation to Address Doctor Shortages and Train Next Generation of Physicians Introduced by Senators Collins, Tester

Washington, D.C. - In response to the severe shortage of physicians that has reached crisis levels in a growing number of communities across the United States, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced the Training the Next Generation of Primary Care Doctors Act.  Their bipartisan bill would address this issue by bolstering the successful Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education Program, which trains physicians in underserved, community-based settings.

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Collins, King, Golden Announce More Than $2 Million for Pines Health Services in Aroostook County

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine) and U.S. Representative Jared Golden (D-Maine) today announced that Pines Health Services, a community health center network with five locations throughout Aroostook County, has received $2,209,761 from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The grant will support collaborative efforts to expand services and lower healthcare costs in northern Maine, especially in rural areas.

 

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