Maine Candidates for Governor and Congress Split on Health Care

Candidates for governor and Congress in Maine offered competing approaches to health care costs and rural hospital finances in interviews with WMTW, which surveyed viewers on the issues driving the midterm election.

Nearly 1,000 Mainers lost coverage because of changes that took effect Oct. 1, WMTW reported, and the next Legislature will decide whether to put more money into MaineCare when lawmakers return in January.

Independent gubernatorial candidate Rick Bennett said the state should pay providers promptly, pointing to delayed payments to hospitals and behavioral health centers. Republican Bobby Charles also called for on-time reimbursement and said patients face long drives for prescriptions. Democrat Hannah Pingree said she would use the Rural Health Transformation Grant to keep rural hospitals open and focus on recruiting primary care doctors to northern Maine and Washington County.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, seeking a sixth term, said she secured a $50 billion rural health care fund in the One Big Beautiful Bill despite voting against final passage. Democratic challenger Troy Jackson said the law puts hospitals at risk and backs Medicare for all.

In the 2nd District, Democrat Matt Dunlap supports a universal system; Republican Paul LePage said it would drive more closures and cited physician recruitment problems in Presque Isle and Calais. In the 1st District, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree backs a single-payer approach, while Republican Ron Russell opposes Medicare for all.

This story was first reported by WMTW.