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132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST SPECIAL SESSION-2025
Legislative Document No. 1634H.P. 1088House of Representatives, April 15, 2025
An Act Regarding MaineCare Waiting Lists
Received by the Clerk of the House on April 11, 2025. Referred to the Committee on
Health and Human Services pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint
Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative OSHER of Orono.
Cosponsored by Representatives: DEBRITO of Waterville, MCCABE of Lewiston,
SARGENT of York, SHAGOURY of Hallowell. Page 1 - 132LR1743(01)
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2 is enacted to read:
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4 Waiting time for any service available under the MaineCare program is governed by
5 this section.
6 The department shall require that for any
7 service covered under the MaineCare program, the maximum amount of time a covered
8 individual may be placed on a waiting list or otherwise wait for service is 6 months from
9 the time the covered individual requests the service in the manner required under the
10 MaineCare program or by the provider of the service.
11 If at any time a waiting list
12 maintained by a provider requires covered individuals to wait longer than 6 months for a
13 service covered under the MaineCare program, the department shall, within 3 months of
14 notice of this occurrence, issue a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature
15 having jurisdiction over health and human services matters containing a corrective action
16 plan to reduce waiting times in compliance with subsection 1.
17 For the purposes of this section, "covered individual" means an individual who is
18 eligible for and enrolled in the MaineCare program.
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20 This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to require that for any
21 service covered under the MaineCare program, an individual enrolled in the MaineCare
22 program may not be required to wait for services longer than 6 months from the time the
23 services are requested. If at any time a provider's waiting list exceeds the 6-month waiting
24 limit for those individuals, the department must submit to the joint standing committee of
25 the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human services matters a corrective
26 action plan to reduce waiting times within 3 months from the time the department becomes
27 aware of this occurrence.
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