Commission to Protect Maine Hospitals Will Hear from Experts on Private Equity Practices, Anti-Trust Regulation
AUGUSTA — On Wednesday, October 22, Sen. Mike Tipping, D-Orono, will conduct the second meeting of the Legislature’s Commission to Evaluate the Scope of Regulatory Review and Oversight over Health Care Transactions That Impact the Delivery of Health Care Services in the State. This summer, Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, appointed Sen. Tipping to chair the Commission.
“We have an opportunity to protect health care facilities in Maine and ensure access to health care for Maine people in the face of new threats,” said Sen. Tipping. “In this meeting we’ll hear from experts on private equity practices, anti-trust law and hospital regulation and review our options for protections in Maine.”
On Wednesday, October 22, the commission will meet at 10 a.m. in the Labor Committee Room (Room 202) at the Burton M. Cross Office Building in Augusta. Members of the public are invited to attend the meeting in person. It will also be livestreamed online at legislature.maine.gov/Audio/#202.
The Commission is tasked with evaluating certificate of need laws, the scope of review to disrupt or terminate health care services, review and oversight of health care transactions and the role of private equity companies or real estate investment trusts taking financial or operational control of a hospital in Maine. It will provide a report to the Legislature’s Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee no later than Dec. 10, 2025.
To follow along with the work of the Commission, access committee meeting materials or to subscribe for notifications and updates, go to legislature.maine.gov/commission-to-evaluate-regulatory-review-and-oversight-of-health-care-transactions.
COMMISSION TO PROTECT MAINE HOSPITALS MEETING DETAILS
WHAT: Second Commission Meeting
WHO: Sen. Mike Tipping, Senate Chair
WHEN: 10 a.m. on Wednesday, October 22
WHERE: Labor Committee Room (Room 202), Burton M. Cross Office Building, Augusta
ONLINE: legislature.maine.gov/Audio/#202
Meeting agenda expert testimony will include:
10:45 am
Presentation on current Maine antitrust laws and the State’s role in reviewing for-profit acquisitions of nonprofit health care entities
Christina Moylan, Assistant Attorney General, Maine Attorney General’s Office
11:30 am
Presentation on other states’ laws and approaches to regulatory review and oversight of health care transactions
Maureen Hensley-Quinn, Senior Director, Coverage, Cost and Value Team, National Academy for State Health Policy
1:00 pm
Presentation on development of Connecticut legislation addressing role of private equity in health care transactions
Sen. Saud Anwar, Connecticut Legislature, Deputy Senate President Pro Tempore, Chair of Public Health Committee and Vice Chair of Insurance and Real Estate Committee
1:30 pm
Presentation on role of private equity in health care transactions
Dr. Zirui Song, Associate Professor of Health Care Policy and Medicine, Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School; Internal Medicine Physician, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
The Commission builds on a proposal that Sen. Tipping brought to the Legislature’s Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee, seeking to protect Maine’s non-profit hospitals from being bought up and gutted by private equity companies and real estate investment trusts. LD 985 received a unanimous, bipartisan vote in the Committee and the Maine Legislature. As emergency legislation, which took effect immediately on June 22, the new law put a one-year moratorium on these types of sales.
Sen. Mike Tipping is currently serving his second term in the Maine Senate. He is the Senate chair of the Legislature’s Labor Committee. He also serves on the Government Oversight and Taxation Committees. He represents Senate District 8, which includes 26 cities and towns in central and northern Penobscot County.
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