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132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST REGULAR SESSION-2025
Legislative Document No. 623H.P. 391House of Representatives, February 25, 2025
An Act to Enhance Support Services for Individuals with an
Acquired Brain Injury
Received by the Clerk of the House on February 20, 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 HEPLER of Woolwich.
Cosponsored by Representatives: BUNKER of Farmington, DILL of Old Town, GRAHAM of
North Yarmouth, SARGENT of York, Senator: BLACK of Franklin. Page 1 - 132LR1749(01)
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2 as enacted by PL 2019, c. 488, §1, is amended to read:
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4 Within the limits of its available resources, the department may enter into contracts
5 with dedicated brain injury organizations based in the State or with brain injury
6 organizations representing individuals with a brain injury and their families, bringing
7 together with an affiliate in the State established and directed by families, caregivers and
8 individuals with an acquired brain injury residing in the State, to bring together state and
9 national expertise to provide core brain injury support for underserved populations of
10 individuals with an acquired brain injury, including, but not limited to, individuals who
11 experienced an opioid drug overdose resulting in anoxic or hypoxic brain injury, who are
12 veterans, who are victims of domestic violence, who are experiencing homelessness, who
13 are ineligible for MaineCare and who have a newly acquired brain injury. For the purposes
14 of this section, "core brain injury support" includes, but is not limited to, resource
15 facilitation, brain injury support groups, outreach designed for individuals who have a
16 newly acquired brain injury, access to a joint state and national helpline, access to an online
17 brain injury screening and support system, collaboration with the department on federal
18 brain injury state partnership grants, information and resource education and family
19 caregiver training. The department may adopt rules to implement this section. Rules
20 adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter
21 375, subchapter 2‑A.
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23 This bill updates the provision of law regarding assistance for individuals with an
24 acquired brain injury that allows the Department of Health and Human Services to enter
25 into contracts with organizations to require such an organization to be based in the State or
26 have an affiliate in the State established and directed by families, caregivers and individuals
27 with an acquired brain injury residing in the State. It also adds access to an online brain
28 injury screening and support system and collaboration with the department on brain injury
29 grants to the definition of "core brain injury support."
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