Bangor, ME – Today, Maine health care professionals gathered in Bangor to slam Susan Collins for her failure to protect Mainers from Donald Trump’s attacks on their health care. At a press conference, Dr. Nirav Shah and Erin Oberson, Co-President of the Maine State Nurses Association, outlined how Trump has hurt Mainers by cutting Medicaid, eliminating Affordable Care Act subsidies, and appointing radical, unqualified nominees to run the American public health system, and that Susan Collins has been alongside him every step of the way.

“I’ve said before that Maine’s health care system is in crisis,” said Dr. Nirav Shah, former Director of the Maine CDC. “Hospital units are closing, premiums are spiking, and thousands of people are getting kicked off of their health insurance entirely. The blame for much of the state of Maine’s and the nation’s health care lies with Senator Collins, after she voted to advance Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill.”

“Nurses see the cost of our corporate health care system every single shift. We see what it does to our patients,” said Erin Oberson, Co-President of the Maine State Nurses Association. “We see what it does to our hospitals. We’ve been telling our leaders for years that this cannot continue, but they have not listened. Take, for example, Senator Susan Collins. Collins helped Trump pass his Big Beautiful Bill, which slashed public health programs and funding, all to fund ICE and tax breaks for the rich…She has consistently put the needs of corporations and hospital management over nurses and our patients.”

“It hasn’t gotten as much attention during this campaign, but Senator Collins provided a key vote to confirm RFK Jr. as Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services,” continued Dr. Shah. “After Collins voted to confirm him, Secretary Kennedy slashed cancer research funding, threw the U.S. CDC into turmoil, and canceled almost $100 million in funding for public health programs. We are now seeing the impact of those cuts in the form of measles outbreaks taking hold across the country, six measles-related deaths in Pennsylvania, and yes, even measles cases here in Maine.”

Last year, Senator Collins voted to advance Trump’s One Big Beautiful bill. OBBBA is projected to slash federal Medicaid funding in Maine by $3 billion over the next decade, threatening health care for the hundreds of thousands of Mainers who rely on Medicaid and putting hospitals across the state at risk of reducing services or closing.

Since OBBBA became law:

• More than 9,100 Mainers, including 2,850 children, have already lost Medicaid or CHIP coverage.

• Up to 61,000 Mainers are projected to lose health insurance because of the law’s Medicaid cuts and the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits.

• Average Affordable Care Act premiums increased by 77% in 2026, contributing to more than 8,500 Mainers dropping their marketplace coverage.

• More than 15,000 Mainers, including 4,600 children, have already lost SNAP benefits, with an estimated 101,000 Maine families expected to lose some or all of their food assistance.

• Multiple Maine hospitals and rural health care providers remain at risk of reducing services or closing because of the law’s Medicaid cuts.

While the law delivered trillions in tax breaks to wealthy households and large corporations, a report found Maine is still projected to lose a net $1.75 billion in health care funding.