Sen. Chipman to serve on Health and Human Services Committee

AUGUSTA — Sen. Ben Chipman, D-Portland, has been appointed by the Senate President to the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services, making him the Senate Democrats’ leading voice on the provision of social and health services.

Sen. Ben Chipman, D-Portland.

“Nothing is more important to me than the health and wellbeing of my constituents and the people all across Maine,” said Sen. Chipman. “We know people often turn to the Department of Health and Human Services when they are vulnerable, and in need of help, and it’s our job to make sure their needs don’t fall on deaf ears. Mainers help their neighbors get back on their feet, whether they need food, physical or mental health services, or assistance overcoming addiction. I’m honored by the trust placed in me by my colleagues with this appointment, and I’m eager to get to work.”

The committee has jurisdiction over the Department of Health and Human Services, the largest agency in state government, which provides health care and social service support to children, families, the elderly, the disabled, people with mental illness or substance use disorders and the poor. The Department includes the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and provides oversight to hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities through its Division of Licensing and Regulatory Services.

More generally, the committee sets state policy regarding health care in Maine, including Maine’s implementation of Medicaid and Medicare. It also oversees issues regarding children’s welfare and mental health, child care, public health and disease control, tobacco addiction prevention and control, the sale of tobacco, prescription drugs, poverty, homelessness and public assistance, as well as issue regarding Maine’s seniors and the medical use of marijuana.

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