FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 22nd, 2026
PRESS CONTACTS:
Mainers Applaud Senator Collins’ Work on Health Care, Affordability
Collins Bills to Support Patients, Hospitals, and Health Care Workforce take one step closer to Becoming Law
BANGOR, ME – Today, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved multiple bills authored by Senator Susan Collins to lower health care costs and strengthen Maine’s health care workforce, a key step toward becoming law. Patients, families, and providers from across Maine released statements applauding this crucial development:
“Capping the cost of insulin has always felt like a dream to patients like me. To see this dream one step closer to coming true is amazing– and to know that it’s my Senator, Susan Collins, working to make it happen, is more special than I can describe,” said Sharon Conley of Portland. “Susan Collins has always been a champion for people living with diabetes. Truly, whatever fight Mainers are facing, we know we’ve got a strong advocate in her. Thank you, Senator Collins.”
“As a father to a child with diabetes, I want to thank Senator Collins for her continued work to improve the lives of families battling this horrible disease. Passing the INSULIN Act and capping the cost of insulin would change literally millions of lives, including ours–some months, our copay was bigger than our mortgage, and this is a medication my child needs to survive. No parent should have to make that choice. Thanks to Senator Collins, we are one step closer to a future where no one will,” said Mark Ferguson of Poland.
“As a labor and delivery nurse, obstetric and neonatal emergency educator in Maine’s rural hospitals, I can tell you firsthand that the closure of labor and delivery units in rural Maine is a real crisis that threatens the health and safety of mothers and babies and the very future of our rural communities. Thank you to Susan Collins for not just talking about the problem, but doing something about it,” said Shauna Goulet, RN of Masardis. “The bipartisan Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act would help keep labor and delivery units open and help ensure that where you live is not a barrier to starting a family or accessing life-saving care.”
“From funding biomedical research and future cures to authoring the largest investment in rural health care in two decades, Senator Collins has always been a champion for health care providers and patients alike. These new bills are consistent with this longstanding record of advocacy, and reflect the hard work and ingenuity she has poured into every day of her Senate service,” said Ian D. Dickey, MD, FRCSC, FAAOS, Orthopaedic Oncologist and Biomedical Engineering Researcher of Bangor. “Thank you, Senator Collins, for being such a strong voice for Maine hospitals and health care workers.”
Three bills introduced by Senator Collins advanced at today’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee markup:
- Improving Needed Safeguards for Users of Lifesaving Insulin Now(INSULIN) Act – For far too long, the high cost of insulin has been a burden to families and patients who rely on this medication to survive. According to the American Diabetes Association, one in six patients report rationing their insulin due to high costs. The INSULIN Act, introduced by Senators Collins, Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and John Kennedy (R-LA) would cap the cost of insulin at $35 per month for Americans with private and employer-sponsored insurance and create a pilot program to provide insulin at the same cost to uninsured Americans. The bipartisan INSULIN Act is supported by the American Diabetes Association, Breakthrough T1D, AARP and more. This bill was approved by the HELP Committee by a bipartisan vote of 17-5.
- Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act – Between 2011 and 2021, more than 260 rural hospitals in the U.S. shut down their obstetrics services, representing one in four of the nation’s rural obstetric units. Almost one-third of hospitals in rural Maine have closed their obstetric units in the past 15 years. Senator Collins’ bipartisan Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act builds on her strong record of supporting patients and expanding access to care by helping prepare rural hospitals and practitioners to handle obstetric emergencies as more labor and delivery units in rural areas are forced to close. This bill was approved by the HELP Committee by a bipartisan vote of 21-1.
- Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act – Maine continues to face a serious shortage of nurses, particularly in rural communities where hospitals struggle to recruit and retain staff. This bipartisan bill expands on Senator Collins’s long record of supporting nursing education, broadening access to clinical training, and helping schools prepare more students for careers in nursing right here in Maine. This bill was approved by the HELP Committee by a bipartisan vote of 21-1.
These bills must now be considered by the full Senate.