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, Cardin Lead Senate in 10th Annual Recognition of Direct Support Professionals

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) recognized the hard work of direct support professionals with a Senate resolution that passed by unanimous consent. The resolution was a cap to the celebratory week that ran September 10th through the 16th. Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are an invaluable part of our nation's health care system, caring for the most vulnerable Americans, including the chronically ill, seniors, and those living with a disability.

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Maine Hospital Leaders Meet with Senator Collins

Click HERE for a high-resolution photo of Senator Collins with Art Blank, Jeffrey Austin, and Dr. Steve Diaz

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Susan Collins met with Art Blank, CEO of Mount Desert Island Hospital; Jeffrey Austin, VP of Government Affairs and Communications of Maine Hospital Association; and Dr. Steve Diaz, CMO of MaineGeneral Health, in her Washington, D.C., office.

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Senator Collins Announces $2 Billion Boost for Biomedical Research Clears Key Hurdle

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced that the Appropriations Committee approved $36.1 billion—a $2 billion increase—for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the third consecutive year as part of the Department of Health and Human Services funding bill. The legislation, which passed the committee by a vote of 30-1, also includes $1.8 billion—a $414 million increase—for Alzheimer’s research at the NIH. It now awaits consideration by the full Senate.

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Senator Collins Questions State Insurance Commissioners on Policies to Fix the Nation’s Health Care System

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a member of the Senate Health Committee, questioned state insurance commissioners today on ways to increase access to affordable health care coverage. The hearing was the first in a four-part series on short-term insurance market stabilization. Senator Collins has consistently championed a bipartisan process to begin fixing the flaws in the Affordable Care Act so that it will work better for all Americans.

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Senators Collins, King Announce More Than $1.7 Million for Maine DHHS

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will receive a total of $1,776,038 for the Ryan White Part B Supplemental Program. This funding was awarded through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to improve the quality, availability, and organization of HIV health care and support services.

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Senators Collins, Shaheen Urge Medicare to Ensure Coverage for Critical Diabetes Therapies

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the co-chairs of the Senate Diabetes Caucus, sent a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma, urging the agency to provide Medicare coverage for clinically appropriate treatment. Senators Collins and Shaheen have consistently worked to increase funding for diabetes research and promote better health care for people with diabetes.

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Following Announcement Of National Opioid Emergency, Durbin And Bipartisan Sponsors Of Medicaid Care Act Press Trump To Heed Own Commission’s Recommendations And Expand Access To Substance Abuse Treatment Under Medicaid

WASHINGTON – U.S. Democratic Senators Dick Durbin (IL), Sherrod Brown (OH), Joe Manchin (WV), and Cory Booker (NJ), Independent Senator Angus King (ME), and Republican Senators Rob Portman (OH), Shelley Moore Capito (WV), and Susan Collins (ME) today urged President Trump to lift the Medicaid Institutions for Mental Disease (IMD) Exclusion for residential substance use disorder treatment as part of his opioid emergency declaration.

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Collins, King Announce $325,000 to the Northeast Telehealth Resource Center to Improve Health Care Access in Rural Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded Northeast Telehealth Resource Center (NETRC) a total of $325,000 through its Telehealth Resource Center Grant Program. Senators Collins and King had written to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the agency within HHS that oversees the Telehealth Resource Center Grant Program, in support of NETRC’s grant application.

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Senators Collins, Stabenow Announce TRICARE Will Cover New Care Plans for Families of Alzheimer’s Patients

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) today announced that the Department of Defense will cover new care plans to support Alzheimer’s patients covered through TRICARE and their families. More than five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, and more than 15 million people serve as their caregivers. The Senators had strongly urged the Department of Defense to make sure that anyone who receives TRICARE could also have access to these new care plans.

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Senators Collins and Tester Introduce Legislation to Address Doctor Shortages and Train Next Generation of Physicians

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

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Senators Collins, McCaskill’s Plan to Improve Generic Drug Competition, Ensure Patient Access to Affordable Medication Heads to President's Desk

Washington, D.C. — Provisions authored by U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) to improve generic competition and lower the cost of prescription drugs cleared the Senate yesterday as part of the FDA Reauthorization Act. The provisions, which were unanimously adopted as an amendment during the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee’s consideration of the legislation in May, will help foster a competitive marketplace to improve the affordability and accessibility of prescription drugs for patients.

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NIH States $597 Million in Additional FY 2019 Funding Needed for Alzheimer's Research

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, released the following statement after the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today that $597 million in additional FY 2019 funds will be needed to meet the goal of preventing or effectively treating Alzheimer’s by 2025. This goal was established by the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease, which was created under the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA), authored by Senator Collins and then-Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), in 2011.

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Sen. Collins' Statement on Health Care Vote

Senator Susan M. Collins

Statement on Health Care Reform

July 27, 2017

 

Few issues are as important or personal to the American people as health care, which is why this debate has been so fervent and ignites such passion.

 

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Charlie Albair, 10-Year-Old Gray Native with T1D, Testifies Before Senator Collins’ Committee on Importance of Finding a Cure for Diabetes

 

Washington, D.C. - “I want my disease to go away – for me and all the other kids who suffer from it. I want us all to be able to live without thinking about it. That’s why I am here,” said 10-year-old Gray native Charlie Albair at a hearing chaired by U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) this morning.

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Senator Collins Secures Provision to Protect Prescription Paper Inserts

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced today that the Senate Appropriations Committee approved language she authored to continue to protect prescription paper inserts. The provision was included as part of the fiscal year (FY) 2018 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations bill at the request of Senator Collins, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee. 

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Collins, King Announce $1.35 Million Loan to Fish River Rural Health Center to Help Build Medical Facility in Fort Kent

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that Fish River Rural Health Center has received a loan of $1,350,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support the construction of additional facilities at its Fort Kent location. Fish River Rural Health is a Federally Qualified Health Center and has facilities in Eagle Lake and Fort Kent. The loan was allocated through the USDA’s Community Facilities Direct Loans and Guaranteed Loans program.

 

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Senator Collins’ Statement on Senate Plan to Repeal ACA without a Replacement

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued this statement on the planned vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) without a replacement:

“I will vote no on the motion to proceed to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement. I voted against this same proposal in 2015.

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Senator Collins Continues to Protect Northern Maine Veterans’ Access to Health Care

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a provision she authored aiming to preserve Northern Maine veterans’ access to health care. Senator Collins is a senior member of the Appropriations Committee.

Specifically, Senator Collins’ provision directs the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that veterans who participated in the Access Received Closer to Home (ARCH) pilot maintain continuity of care through the use of provider agreements.

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