An Act to Require
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1937
Committee Amendment CA_A_S346 (Senate)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" /f,, to S.P, 755, L.D. 1937, "An Act to Require 
Hospitals and Hospital-affiliated Providers to Provide Financial Assistance Programs for 
Medical Care'' 
Amend the bill in section 3 in § 1716-A in subsection 3 in paragraph E in the 7th line 
(page 4, line 7 in L.D.) by striking out the following: 
1130
and insetting the following: '45' 
Amend the bill in section 3 in § 17 I 6-A in subsection 5 by striking out all of paragraph 
B (page 5, lines 4 to 7 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'B. Providing, in conspicuous locations within the hospital, including admission, 
registration and waiting areas, information regarding how patients can access physical 
copies of the plain language summary under paragraph A. the financial assistance 
program application and any application instructions;' 
Amend the bill in section 3 in § 1716-A in subsection 8 in the 4th line (page 6, line 4 in 
L.D.) by striking out the following: "3%
and inserting the following: '4%' 
Amend the bill in section 3 in § 1716-A in subsection 10 in the first line (page 6, line 
in L.D.) by insetiing after the following: "shall" the following: ', by July I. 2028.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 7 and .iilserting the following: 
'Sec, 7. Appropriations and allocations, The following apprnpl'iations and 
allocations are made, 
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF 
Division of Licensing and Ce1'fification Z036 
Initiative: Establishes one Compt·ehensive Health Planner II position, effective July l, 
2026, to develop program applications and implement the department's enforcement 
requirements for charity care and other financial assistance progrnms required of hospitals, 
including investigating patient complaints, taking corrective actions and providing staff 
supp01t for any necessary legal action. The initiative also provides funding for related All 
Other costs. 
Page l - l32LR0979(02) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
o"l'i, 
~ 
l 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" ft" to S.P. 755, L.D. 1937 (5 .. ;~ b' 
GENERAL FUND 
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT 
Personal Services 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS 
Personal Services 
All Other 
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL 
Sec. 8. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2026.' 
2025-26 
2026-27 
0.000 
1.000 
$0 
$37,721 
$0 
$2,467 
$0 
$40,188 
2025-26 
2026-27 
$0 
$73,223 
$0 
$6,599 
$0 
$79,822 
Amend the bill by relettet'ing or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section 
number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment makes the following changes to the bill. 
l. It changes the requirement that a hospital determine a patient's eligibility for 
financial assistance and inform the patient of the eligibility determination within 30 days 
from the date a completed application is submitted to within 45 days from the date a 
completed application is submitted. 
2. It changes the requirement for hospitals to provide physical copies of the plain 
language summary, the financial assistance pt·ogram application and any application 
instructions in conspicuous locations within the hospital, including admission, registration 
and waiting areas, to a requirement that hospitals provide in these conspicuous locations 
information as to how a patient can access physical copies of these documents. 
3. It changes the requirement that a hospital offer a patient with a documented family 
income that does not exceed 400% of the federal poverty level a payment plan that requires 
monthly out-of-pocket payments that do not exceed 3% of the patient's monthly family 
income that is not exempt from attachment or garnishment under state law to a requirement 
that the offered payment plan not exceed 4% of that income. 
4. It provides that the date by which a hospital is required to provide an online option 
through which an applicant may file an application for charity care is July 1, 2028. 
5. It adds an appropriations and allocations section. 
6. It changes the effective date of the legislation from January I, 2026 to July l, 2026. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 06/04/25 l-Rl-
LD 1937 
LR 979(02) 
An Act to Require Hospitals and Hospital-affiliatccl Providers to Provide Financial Assistance 
Programs for ·Med_ical Care 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "/ir-' (),. J4'-6) 
Committee: Health and Human Services 
Net Cost (Savings) 
General Fund 
.·Appropriations/Allocations 
General Fund 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Revenue 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
FY 2025-26 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
FY 2026-27 
$40,188 
$40,188 
$79,822 
$14,513 
Projections 
FY 2027-28 
$41,580 
$41,580 
$82,587 
$15,016 
Projections 
FY 2028-29 
$42,935 
$42,935 
$85,278 
$15,505 
This bill may increase the number of civil suits filed in the court system. The additional workload associated v;1ith the 
minimal number of new cases filed in the court system does not require additional fonding at this time. The collection 
of additional filing fees will increase General Fund revenue by minor amounts. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
The bill includes ongoing General Fund appropriations to the Department of Health and Human Services of $40,188 
in fiscal year 2026-27 for one Comprehensive Health Planner II position to implement the requirements of the 
department for implementation and enforcement of charity care and other financial assistance programs provided by 
hospitals. Other Special Revenue Funds allocations are also included for fee revenue and federal matching funds. 
Any additional costs to the Office of the Attorney General from the provisions of this bill are expected to be minor 
and can be absorbed within existing budgeted reso-urces. 
LR0979(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of l