Health Care, Taxes and Budget Federal bailout package for rural hospitals fails to deliver HR 1, the harmful Republican megabill that delivered trillions in tax cuts for wealthy households and large corporations, also cut $911 billion from Medicaid, $134 billion of […] Mark Shaffer Posted May 28, 2026 Tags Budget, Economic Security, Health Care
Health Care 7 things to know about the political attacks on MaineCare For decades, politicians have used isolated stories about public assistance fraud to divide people and build support for cuts that ultimately hurt working families while benefiting the […] MECEP Posted May 14, 2026 Tags Federal, Health Care, Immigration, Medicaid, Trump Tax Cuts
Taxes and Budget Thousands of Mainers lose food assistance in wake of One Big Beautiful Bill changes Following a national trend, over 13,000 Mainers have lost food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) since Congressional Republicans and President Trump enacted their reconciliation […] James Myall Posted May 13, 2026 Tags Budget, Federal, Food Insecurity, SNAP
Health Care, Maine’s Economy 2026 Session Recap: Health care and the safety net The legislative session in 2026 was overshadowed by federal threats to food security and health care. In particular, the passage of HR 1 last year created a […] James Myall Posted April 30, 2026 Tags Budget, Federal, Health Care, Medicaid, SNAP
Maine’s Economy 2026 Session Recap: Immigration and tribal sovereignty The Maine legislature made mixed progress on racial equity in 2026. While there were efforts to shield New Mainers from excessive actions of federal agencies like US […] James Myall Posted April 30, 2026 Tags Federal, Immigration, Racial Equity, Tribal Sovereignty
Jobs and Income 2026 Session Recap: Workers and the care economy The second session of the 132nd legislature included the passage of several laws that will improve working conditions for Mainers and make it easier to get access […] James Myall Posted April 30, 2026 Tags Caregiving, Child Care, Direct Care Work, Economic Security, Job Quality, Jobs
Taxes and Budget 2026 Session Recap: Tax policy By Maura Pillsbury and Mark Shaffer The 2026 legislative session delivered major milestones in tax fairness, including: passage of a millionaire tax signed by the governor into […] Maura Pillsbury Posted April 23, 2026 Tags Property Tax, Tax Fairness, Tax Havens, Taxes, Trump Tax Cuts
Taxes and Budget What’s in the 2026 supplemental budget package The Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee (AFA) met Wednesday and recommended passage of a supplemental budget bill that raises taxes on the highest-earning Mainers and draws from […] James Myall Posted April 3, 2026 Tags Appropriations Committee, Budget, Revenue, Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness
Maine’s Economy, Taxes and Budget IRS data shows Maine is gaining residents from so-called “low tax” states “Tax flight” makes for a convenient talking point. It just doesn’t match reality. The latest IRS migration data shows what we already know: people move for jobs, […] Mark Shaffer Posted April 1, 2026 Tags Budget, Immigration, Revenue, Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Health Care, Maine’s Economy Hospital pricing bill could save Mainers $200 million over 5 years At a glance: LD 2196 would stop hospitals from raising prices too fast, saving Mainers about $203 million over five years Almost half of Maine families are […] James Myall Posted March 27, 2026 Tags Affordable Care Act, Economic Security, Health Care, Medicaid, Medicare
