ICYMI: Impacted Mainers Discuss Skyrocketing Insurance Rates As Collins Refuses to Protect Mainers’ Health Care

In case you missed it, today the Maine Democratic Party hosted a virtual roundtable where impacted Mainers shared stories and discussed how they are set to see their insurance rates skyrocket when the ACA's enhanced premium tax credits expire, thanks to Susan Collins' decision to shut down the government rather than extend them.

Collins has voted numerous times against a bill that would save health care for more than 50,000 Mainers who are at risk of seeing their insurance premiums skyrocket when enhanced premium ACA tax credits expire. Reporting has pointed out Susan Collins "has yet to sponsor" any legislative move to extend the tax credits.

When those insured by the ACA, CoverME marketplace receive notices of skyrocketing premium increases at the end of this month, their typical costs could double, thousands could pay over $900 more a month, and in some scenarios, families could see rates increase by 412%.

Watch the entire roundtable:

Here are some key moments:

Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson:

• Susan Collins is to blame for the pending health care coverage crisis Maine faces. The increased insurance costs Mainers are expected to pay and the pending health care cliff, where Mainers will lose health insurance, falls squarely on Susan Collins' shoulders as she refuses to do anything to help.

• Susan Collins hasn't done anything to protect Mainers who rely on these tax credits. In fact, Collins has voted againsta bill numerous times that would have prevented health care from getting more expensive by extending the tax credits.

• Instead, Susan Collins would rather shut down the government and attend Republican "unity" lunches at the White House than lift a finger to lower costs or protect Mainers health care coverage.

Mainer Kristin Fuhrmann-Simmons from Kennebunkport:

• I am a wife, a mother, an artist, a teacher-and I am also a patient. Since 2010, my husband and I have been the primary caregivers for my father, who has chronic lymphocytic leukemia and is now in end-of-life care.
  

• His disease and treatment has not been covered by the Affordable Care Act, mine has [...] Access to the ACA has made all the difference in my life. In 2017, during a fundraising road race in honor of my father, I suddenly lost vision in my right eye and movement on the right side of my body. What I thought might be exhaustion turned out to be multiple sclerosis. An MRI revealed multiple demyelinating lesions in my brain and dangerously elevated brain pressure.
  

• Since that time [...] I've required consistent, complex care: I regularly visit neurologists, I get MRIs twice a year, I also get spinal taps, quarterly eye exams, and have consultations with specialists across the state. My medication regimen is equally complex: I take a medication called Diamox-typically used by mountain climbers-to regulate pressure in my brain. This treatment, however, causes the loss of essential vitamins and minerals, which also means I require heavy supplementation and also supportive treatments, including routine IV therapy. With insurance, my medications cost $230 a month, that is on the ACA plan. Without it, my medications just to maintain equal brain pressure would be unattainable. A single spinal tap here in the state of Maine averages around $2,300. An MRI averages around $4,800. These are not occasional expenses for me-they are essential, ongoing parts of my life.
  

• In 2023, I had to leave my job at the University of Southern Maine as a lecturer because of the toll this disease took on me. Today, I am 51, the mother of two extraordinary daughters, and married to a man who has dedicated his career to supporting families in need of mental health care. We live extremely simply, on a tight and a very exacting budget. Our annual household income qualifies us for a significant ACA premium tax credit and reduced deductibles.
  

• Even with this support, we, like many other Mainers, carry significant medical debt; I have $20,000 in medical debt. Thanks to the enhanced premium tax credit, our monthly premium right now - without my being able to work consistently and full-time - is only $11 a month, and my care remains accessible, including my prescriptions. Without the credit, our premium could skyrocket to $2,000 a month-this is completely out of reach for us. Losing this coverage would mean losing my ability to see, my ability to walk, and to live here with dignity.

• Time is running out. In the coming days, and I am sure families right now have already gotten their letters, Mainers will begin receiving letters notifying them of premium increases for next year. Millions of people like me will face impossible choices: Do we pay the mortgage, or do we keep our health insurance? Do I stay on my medication, or do we save money and risk blindness, disability, or even worse? These are gut-wrenching decisions no family in Maine or the nation should ever have to make.

Mainer Julie Morringello from Stonington:

• I'm an artist and designer, and this is my 25th year living in Stonington, Maine. My mother is a breast cancer survivor, and she has always instilled in me, demanded the importance of having health insurance.

• I'm old enough to remember when before the ACA when there was no mandate that health insurance, you could be denied for a preexisting condition, and she was terrified that something like that could happen to me. So she said you've got to have something, anything. So I've purchased [health care]. I've been self-employed for about 23 years, and a mixture of part-time work. I have self-insured myself for 23 years.

• When the ACA came along, it was an absolute godsend for me because my insurance, it's still an investment, but it became affordable and that was incredible.

• About 12 years ago during a routine checkup, which again is covered by the ACA, my doctor discovered a lump on my breast and I was diagnosed with early breast cancer. Thank goodness for that, because I wouldn't still be here. I got the treatment that I needed.

• Then, a couple of years ago I had another cancer diagnosis, unfortunately, but again, still on the ACA got the treatment that I needed. but I require continual care and it is very expensive.

• I blow through my $7,000 deductible every year on top of my $500 premium [...] and that's with enhanced tax credits. So we're already looking at, you know, $12,000 of health care a year on the ACA with enhanced tax credits. I have gotten an estimate that my health insurance premium without the enhanced tax credits will double.

• It's insane, and I don't have a choice. I'm not one of the people that's going to drop insurance. I must have insurance. I must have yearly MRIs. Sometimes I have to have CAT scans. I have to take medications. There are complications of chemotherapy, all these things.

• I have done everything right. I have maintained insurance since my twenties. And I'm getting hot and this really makes me furious. I've done everything right.

• We have to have these tax credits. I mean, I cannot, let's hope I live to retirement. I can't save for retirement. I can't save for my kids' college fund. I can't grow my business in a way that I would like to grow my business.

• You know, what are we going to cut out? What kind of life are we going to have?

• As you can see, it's very upsetting and very important, and I think our elected [officials] have got to deal with this problem.

A shared story from Mainer Carole Fountaine from Shapleigh:

• I'm Carole Fontaine, a 57-year-old self-employed author, teacher, and graphic designer from Shapleigh - and a 10-month breast cancer survivor. On January 1, I'll lose my health coverage when the ACA enhanced premium tax credits expire. I'm terrified of being uninsured and pleading with the Republican Party to extend the subsidies.

• I currently pay $175 per month for an Anthem Bronze plan that would otherwise cost $1,200 a month. With the 26-32% price hike announced last month for Mainers like me, that same plan will cost about $1,600 per month in 2026, on top of a $9,500 deductible. There's simply no way I can afford that.

• This past year I've battled recurrence scares, biopsies, and harsh medications that damaged my immune system, left me barely able to walk, and caused constant fatigue and pain. I'm still fighting infections and awaiting a pulmonology appointment for a severe bronchial issue. Yesterday, I had to refuse two prescriptions-one $105, another $150-even with insurance.

• Since my diagnosis in late 2024, I've accumulated significant medical debt and lost income from being too ill to work. Bills are piling up, credit cards are growing, and I still face costly follow-ups, scans, and medications. My focus should be on recovery - not on financial survival.

• I've written and called Senator Collins repeatedly [...] But I've only received what seems like automated responses.
  

• I moved to America 32 years ago, believing in its promise. Now I face leaving my husband and home just to survive. Cancer was enough. Don't take away my health care.

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