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.
When I was back home in Maine recently, I saw an 88-year-old woman taking care of her 90-year-old husband with Alzheimer’s. I also spoke with a woman in her 50s who, with her sisters, is juggling their busy work schedules with the care of their mother who has Alzheimer’s. And I talked to a man trying to cope with his wife’s dementia as well as his own health problems.
“Since I founded the Senate Diabetes Caucus in 1997, funding for diabetes research has more than tripled,” said Senator Collins. “The 2016 omnibus spending bill passed late last year continues this progress with an overall $2 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health, the largest since 2003, but there is still much work to be done. I have called on my colleagues to maintain our strong commitment to diabetes research in the 2017 spending bill, and Senator Shaheen and I are determined to require Medicare to cover Continuous Glucose Monitors, just as many private insurance companies already do. Today’s investments will yield cures and therapies for patients tomorrow.”
Washington, DC - Yesterday, United States Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) introduced the Advancing NIH Strategic Planning and Representation in Medical Research Act.
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King introduced legislation today that would extend the Access Received Closer to Home (ARCH) program for an additional five years. Absent congressional action, the pilot program will expire on August 7, 2016.
Washington, D.C. – Responding to the pressing need for enhanced mental health services on college campuses across the country, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined with U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) today to introduce bipartisan legislation to improve mental health services on college campuses. The Mental Health on Campus Improvement Act – which was introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that the Department of Health and Human Services has awarded over $1.2 million dollars to community health centers in Maine to help fight the opioid epidemic. The funding will expand the delivery of substance abuse services, including medication assisted treatment, with a focus on treatment of opioid use disorders.
Washington, D.C.—The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), cosponsored by Senator Susan Collins, passed the Senate today (94-1).
Bipartisan legislation stems from ongoing Aging Committee investigation into the causes, impacts, and potential solutions to these egregious price spikes
U.S. Senator Susan Collins spoke from the Senate floor today in support of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA). Senator Collins is a cosponsor of this bipartisan legislation, which provides a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to help Americans combat the opioid epidemic.
Millions of older Americans experience pain associated with such conditions as bone fractures, cancer, post-surgery recovery, and end-of-life illnesses. Studies have shown that as many as 50 percent of older adults living at home and 85 percent of older adults living in residential facilities may suffer from chronic pain. For these older Americans, prompt delivery of pain control is a medical imperative.
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee and Chairman of the Aging Committee, emphasized to Attorney General Loretta Lynch the importance of developing a more robust response to the IRS impersonation phone scam at an Appropriations Committee hearing this morning. During the hearing, Senator Collins showcased the Aging Committee’s comprehensive guide on the top 10 scams targeting seniors, which found that the IRS impersonation phone scam is the #1 most prevalent fraud.
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) led a bipartisan delegation of 26 U.S. Senators in writing to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, regarding one possible contributing factor to the opioid crisis and heroin epidemic facing our country. The letter urges HHS to conduct a robust examination of whether or not certain questions on patient satisfaction surveys may inadvertently encourage treatment with opioid pain relievers, contributing to the vast supply of prescription opioids currently in circulation in our country. According to the CDC, health care providers wrote 259 million prescriptions for painkillers in 2012, enough for every American adult to have a bottle of pills.
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Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King have announced the award of $1.181 million for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The grant, which was awarded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program, will help provide free immunizations to eligible low-income children under the age of 18.
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The people of Maine, and of this country, expect the President and Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to work together to improve the lives of hardworking Americans. The problems, both at home and abroad, are too important to be stymied by incivility, extremism, or hyper-partisanship.
FALMOUTH — The message from Maine’s senior U.S. senator was clear Tuesday morning: the state and the nation must do more for those with Alzheimer’s disease and the people who care for them.
Speaking at the Lunt Auditorium at 74 Lunt Road, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said while Alzheimer’s is “a devastating disease” for the patient, it is also harmful to family members who become caretakers.
“It’s impossible to talk about Alzheimer’s without talking about the caregivers,” Collins said.
As we turn the page on 2015 and look to the future, I welcome this opportunity to share some of the accomplishments of the past year. Although much work remains to be done, I was able to achieve progress on issues that matter to the people of Maine, whom I am honored to represent in the United States Senate.
Senator Collins, Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, will tour the Stewart Adult Day Center in Falmouth tomorrow at 10:30 AM.
A heroin epidemic is sweeping across America. Going beyond their traditional urban centers, drug cartels and big-city traffickers are targeting new lucrative markets in states and communities previously untouched by this scourge.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today congratulated Alba-Technic, LLC, one of five companies nationwide to win the Head Health Challenge III. The challenge is an open innovation competition held by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Football League, Under Armour, and General Electric (GE) to support the discovery, design and development of advanced materials that better absorb and dissipate impact.
Prescription drugs are vital to the health and well-being of all Americans, especially our nation’s seniors, 90 percent of whom take at least one prescription drug in any given month. For many Americans, access to prescription drugs is not only critical to their quality of life, but can literally be a matter of life or death.
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Susan Collins cited Maine examples in her opening statement this morning at a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing titled: Opioid Abuse in America: Facing the Epidemic and Examining Solutions.
WASHINGTON, D.C. —The Senate passed the RAISE Family Caregivers Act, introduced by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), this evening. The legislation must now be considered by the House of Representatives.
Every day, approximately 800 women around the world die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. In addition, more than 17,000 children under five years old will die each day of treatable conditions such as prematurity, pneumonia, and diarrhea—with malnutrition being the underlying cause in nearly half of those deaths.
“I am honored to have been named to this task force. It is vital that the United States continue to provide global leadership in the areas of maternal, newborn, and child health.”
“Tonight, I voted in opposition to the Budget Reconciliation Act because this legislation would totally prohibit federal funding, including Medicaid funds, for Planned Parenthood. It would likely result in the shutdown of virtually all Planned Parenthood clinics in our country, depriving millions of women of access to basic healthcare and forcing them to give up the health provider of their choice."
“Maine DHHS plays an important role in helping to provide critical health care services for thousands of Maine families.”
Bipartisan Bill Cosponsored by Senator Collins would help confront the growing crisis of opioid abuse among pregnant women and its effect on newborn babies
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