“Increasing Requirements For Health Care Would [...] Significantly Harm [...] The Nearly 33,000 Workers In Maine’s Fishing Industry”

Collins “Supportive” of Medicaid Provisions that Would Strip Coverage from 34,000 Mainers

Augusta, Maine – Last week, Susan Collins said she was “supportive” of the GOP budget bill’s Medicaid cuts that experts say would rip away health care from 34,000 Mainers.

Now, Mainers are sounding the alarm that the proposed Medicaid cuts would also devastate the thousands of workers in Maine’s billion-dollar fishing industry who rely on MaineCare to access health care.

Read more in the Portland Press Herald:

Maine’s fishermen tangled up in Medicaid cuts | Opinion

By Marissa Williams and Kristen Gleason

June 10, 2025

  • At the end of May, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on a GOP megabill potentially affecting millions of Americans receiving Medicaid, a federal and state partnership program that helps 72 million people nationwide. With harsher requirements and more verifications, it would put health insurance to over 400,000 individuals in Maine in jeopardy; nationally, over 8 million Americans could be disqualified.

  • Among the groups in danger in Maine are fishing industry workers who rely on Medicaid. Fishing is one of Maine’s largest industries, bringing in approximately $3.2 billion a year. As the largest lobster-producing state, the 2021 catch set a record, bringing in over $730.6 million. This sector supports over 33,300 jobs statewide — nearly 13,000 in harvesting alone — including direct and indirect employment, according to a Middlebury Institute report.

  • These are physically demanding jobs. Injuries affecting shoulders, arms, elbows and hands are prevalent in a large percentage of lobster and shellfish harvesters, often leaving them vulnerable to physical, mental and substance use-related disorders. Working long hours, social isolation and high levels of physical activity contribute to the harshness of the job.

  • Due to the unique nature of the lobstering and fishing industry, many individuals lack health care coverage. Eleven percent of Americans state that they could not afford medications and health care within the past three months. Among Maine’s fishing industry, rates of those with no health care coverage is 8.7% higher than the general population. Because many are self-employed or independent contractors, they are left without the standard benefits that many occupations provide.

  • Cutting back on eligibility and reimbursements while increasing requirements for health care would not only hurt tens of millions of Americans, but would significantly harm those who keep Maine’s economy booming — the nearly 33,000 workers in Maine’s fishing industry.
     

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