Sanborn bill to attract and retain Maine doctors signed into law

AUGUSTA – On Friday, June 28, Sen. Linda Sanborn’s, D-Gorham, bill LD 440, “An Act To Continue the Doctors for Maine’s Future Scholarship Program,”  was signed into law by Gov. Janet Mills. The new law will provide continuing funding to the Doctors for Maine’s Future Scholarship program, which provides scholarships to medical students at the Maine-based University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNECOM) and the Tufts Medical School Maine Track program.

“It is a poorly kept secret that Maine is facing a physician workforce shortage, a shortage exacerbated by physicians aging out of practice, an aging population that requires more care, and an increasingly insured population due to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Expansion. Not surprisingly, this shortage is most pronounced in more rural areas of the state,” said Sen. Sanborn. “The Doctors for Maine’s Future program is a critical investment in the future of our workforce, and I thank Gov. Mills for her support for continuing the program.”

UNECOM and the Tufts Medical School Maine Track program are the only two Maine-specific medical programs in the country. In order to receive the Doctors for Maine’s Future scholarship, students must have a strong connection to Maine and at least one year of residence in Maine for a purpose other than education. Preference is given to candidates who have graduated from a Maine high school, received a bachelor’s degree from a Maine college or university, or whose parents live in Maine.