Advocating the interests of Maine physicians and their patients before the legislative and executive branches of government.

No entity devotes more resources to advocacy on physicians' behalf before the Maine legislature and executive branch agencies than the Maine Medical Association.

The MMA Advocacy Team:

• Mikenzie Dwyer, Public Health and Government Affairs Manager

The MMA's advocacy team knows the key decision-makers in the legislature and the executive branch and is actively engaged in representing physicians and their patients in the health care policy debate in Maine.  If you would like to become involved in the MMA's advocacy work, please contact us.

Federal Advocacy:

MMA Comments on Title X Proposed Rulemaking RE: Family Planning

Maine Legislature Advocacy:

Bills of Interest to Medicine 130th Legislature

MMA Legislative Update: 129th Maine Legislature, First Regular Session PowerPoint - Focus on Health-related Bills 2019

2018 Annual Report of the MMA Committee on Legislation

Maine Licensing Board Advocacy:

Comments on Proposed Rule RE: Chapter 21, Use of Controlled Substances for Treatment of Pain

Maine Executive Branch Advocacy:

DHHS 2017 Rule on opioid prescribing and use of the PMP

New MaineCare Rules on Limited Family Planning Benefit:  The new rules covering patients up to 209% of the Federal Poverty Limit for certain reproductive health care services can be found here. They became effective October 1, 2016. 

Resources to Keep You Informed of the MMA's Advocacy Efforts:

• Testimony: MMA testimony from the current session of the Legislature.
• 130th Legislature MMA Bill Tracking Sheet [Go] Starting each January, MMA's most current tracking sheet shows MMA's position on bills being tracked by the Association.
• Weekly Update Articles: A weekly electronic newsletter covering legislative activity during the session.

Get Involved!

• MMA Legislative Committee. The MMA Legislative Committee holds weekly conference call during the legislative session to review and finalize the MMA's position on bills printed that week, to hear the views of specialty societies on the new bills or their concerns about any health policy issues, and to discuss the highlights of legislative action that week. For more information or to join the calls, please contact Dan Morin, Director of Governmental Affairs and Communications at dmorin@mainemed.com or 207-480-4199.

• Physicians' Day at the Legislature is a bi-annual event. The next Physicians' Day at the Legislature will take place in 2025.  Questions can be addressed to Mikenzie Dwyer at 207-651-0181 or mdwyer@mainemed.com.

• Doctor of the Day Registration: Participate in the process as a "Doctor of the Day" at the Maine legislature. In addition to familiarizing yourself with Maine's legislative process and meeting your legislators, you may have your children serve as "Honorary Pages" during your visit.

About the Maine Legislature & Legislative Committees:

Maine's legislature is composed of 186 members (151 members of the House of Representatives and 35 members of the Senate) elected every two years. Members are limited to four consecutive terms in one seat, but they may return after a break and may run for an appropriate seat in the other chamber. The Maine legislature meets for approximately 6 months (January to June) in the first year and for approximately 4 months (January to April) in the second year of the 2-year cycle.

• Maine Legislature's Home Page: A wealth of information about Maine's legislative process. You can research the legislative history of any bill and Maine's statutes online.
• Bill Status Search: Determine the current procedural status of any bill in the current legislature.

All of the committees of the Maine Legislature are joint House/Senate committees generally composed of 13 members – 3 Senators with 2 from the majority party and 1 from the minority party and 10 Representatives with 6 from the majority party and 4 from the minority party. The following committees have jurisdiction over some portion of health care policy: Health & Human Services, Insurance & Financial Services, Labor Commerce, Research & Economic Development,and Judiciary. In addition to these four committees, the legislature's two "money" committees inevitably are involved in the health care policy debate – Taxation (the revenue committee) and Appropriations & Financial Affairs (the spending committee).

• Joint Standing Committees: Membership of the joint standing committees of the current legislature at this site.
• Committee Jurisdiction: Areas of jurisdiction for each committee.

The principal executive branch agencies involved in the development of health care policy in Maine are the Department of Health & Human Services and the Department of Professional & Financial Regulation. Two quasi-independent agencies, the Maine Health Data Organization and the Workers' Compensation Board also play a role in health care policy development.

• State Agency Rules: You can find administrative rules promulgated by executive branch agencies at this site.