Panel discusses looming rise in health care premiums for some Mainers
Posted on August 20, 2025 | News
Spectrum | BY David Ledford Maine
PUBLISHED 3:07 PM ET Aug. 19, 2025
BANGOR — A tax credit that has lowered healthcare premiums for thousands of Mainers is set to expire at the end of the year unless Congress acts to extend it.
According to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, enhanced premium tax credits lower monthly premiums for Maine households by nearly $180, and over 50,000 Mainers qualify for health insurance tax credits.
Without them, the Maine DHHS said the typical monthly cost for qualifying Mainers will jump from $260 to around $440.
Also, according to Maine DHHS, “the enhanced tax credits have benefited tens of thousands of Mainers who do not have access to health insurance through an employer or government program, such as MaineCare, by lowering the percentage of income they need to spend on health coverage.”
Tuesday, Maine healthcare providers and local leaders came together for a panel discussion in Bangor to call for an extension of the credit and share their concerns about the looming change.
Keep Americans Covered hosted the roundtable discussion, and Matt Wellington, associate director of the Maine Public Health Association, moderated it.
“[The tax credit] gives families, seniors, young people and business owners the peace of mind that they can get a prescription filled without draining their bank account or get care when they need it,” said Wellington. “These credits have really been a lifeline.”
The Enhanced Premium Tax Credits were first implemented in 2021 through the American Rescue Plan Act — as an expansion of existing Premium Tax Credits that were established through the Affordable Care Act.
According to coverme.gov, Maine’s official health insurance marketplace, the original tax credits will remain in place.
Some shared concerns about the potential impact that premium increases could have on small businesses and others.
“[The tax credit] is a good example of a tool that a government can create to assist local, small businesses,” said Lee Umphrey, president and CEO of the Eastern Maine Development Corporation. “And the value of this is that it’s going to help people and families and businesses at the local level. And I think it’s essential that it gets renewed. Businesses are challenged right now to find good workers, and things like this are making it even harder.”
“It immediately helps people, and long-term is a better investment. It’s going to add added costs by not having these kinds of programs,” Umphrey added following the panel.
During the panel, healthcare leaders worried that a loss of the credit could threaten the affordability of healthcare for some Mainers.
“Those considerations of out-of-pocket costs are amplified when somebody’s premiums are high to begin with, and if premiums go up then their considerations of out-of-pocket costs have to take that into account,” said Dr. Noah Nesin, medical director of research and innovation for Community Care Partnerships of Maine. “With testing, with preventative care, with management of chronic disease, people are simply less likely to come in for care if there’s additional costs associated with that care.”
Nesin also added that he believes support needs to come at the federal level.
“Any individual state has very limited ability to impact the effect of these stressors at a local level, it really is a broad policy decision.,” said Nesin. “It is a challenge to make recommendations to the legislature about things that can truly have an impact on what you and I pay to go to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription.”
Some at the panel added that a loss of the credit could have negative effects on those who rely on the Affordable Care Act, including rural Mainers and fishing communities.
“Our population [in Deer Isle and Stonington] is mostly self-employed, mostly fishermen out there working, and about 16% to 20% of those people rely on the Affordable Care Act to get their insurance,” said Stacey Roberts, a licensed practical nurse with Healthy Harvesters. “What I see for that in our community is if we lose those tax exemptions, then we lose the people that have insurance, they’re no longer going to seek out healthcare, which is going to be detrimental to their health overall.”
The panel comes after the Maine Bureau of Insurance unveiled proposals on Friday for new rates for 2026 by major insurance companies operating in Maine, including Anthem Healthcare of Maine and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.