New laws championed by Sen. Mike Tipping take effect

AUGUSTA —A series of non-emergency laws sponsored and championed by Sen. Mike Tipping, D-Orono, during the Second Regular Session of the 131st Maine Legislature took effect today, Aug. 9. Key accomplishments include new laws to combat predatory medical debt lenders, improve access to health care and prescription medication and respond to the ongoing housing crisis.

“This was my first term in Augusta, and I’m proud of the work we did together there on a wide range of issues, from funding emergency medical services, housing and child care to protecting some of our basic rights,” said Sen. Tipping. “I entered my legislative service with a lot of ideas, most based on conversations with people in this district. Of the many bills I submitted, more than twenty eventually passed the Legislature.”

In addition, Sen. Tipping honored commitments to Maine seniors, schools, municipalities and property taxpayers. Sen. Tipping voted to maintain tax breaks for retirees and protect the recent expansion of the Medicare Savings Program. Sen. Tipping also supported a supplemental budget that fully funds the state’s share of K-12 public education funding and the municipal revenue-sharing program.

All non-emergency laws take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns sine die unless otherwise specified. Emergency measures take effect immediately upon the governor’s signature.

According to the Office of Policy and Legal Analysis, of the 567 bills reported out of committee, 355 had unanimous, bipartisan support and 212 were divided.

An overview of key non-emergency laws sponsored and supported by Sen. Tipping can be found below:

• Improving transparency on prescription drug coverage. A new law will uncover whether or not health insurance companies are playing games to drive patients to brand-named drugs when cheaper options are available. It will also equip lawmakers with the information necessary to take meaningful action on behalf of Maine patients.

• Clamping down on shady medical debt collection practices. A new law seeks to prohibit the debt collectors from tacking on additional fees or employing false, deceptive or misleading representations and protects folks who are struggling financially from being dragged into costly litigation by debt collectors.

• Helping Mainers access and afford medication in pharmacy deserts.* A new law establishes a grant program to help the state’s network of nonprofit Community Health Centers, or Federally Qualified Health Centers, develop or expand their capacity to provide access to affordable prescription drugs. Maine’s network of Community Health Centers provide primary care services to more than 200,000 patients (1 out of 6 Mainers) at 80 locations across the state.

• Strengthens Maine’s health care price transparency laws. A new law requires health care providers to give good faith estimates to uninsured/self-pay patients and prohibits them from collecting if they don’t do that and sets specific timelines for providing estimates. It also requires providers to share codes for procedures and requires insurers to provide out-of-pocket estimates for insured patients.

• Preventing student homelessness.* A new law establishes a housing subsidy program to support housing for students who do not have adult family members or guardians to secure housing for them.

• Ensuring workers are paid what they’re owed. A new law increases the Department of Labor’s ability to hold businesses accountable when they refuse to pay their workers — allowing the Department to order businesses to pay not just back wages, but damages from missed wages as well.

• Better pay for ed techs and school support staff.* A new law raises wages for ed techs to 125 percent of the minimum wage and wages for support staff to 115 percent of the minimum wage. The goal is to help address the widespread shortage of ed techs and support staff in school districts across the state.

• Protecting broadband consumers. A new law requires a provider of broadband Internet access service to provide a customer with a pro-rata credit or rebate for the days of the monthly billing period after the cancellation of broadband Internet access service if that customer requests cancellation of service three or more working days before the end of the monthly billing period.

*An asterisk notes an initiative funded in the supplemental budget, LD 2214.

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