OPINION: Since the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been reports of labor shortages across the nation. However, Maine’s healthcare industry has taken a significant majority of that hit.
According to the Maine Policy Institute, “In the five years preceding the pandemic, Maine lost half of its licensed psychiatrists.”
In a time when Maine’s population is increasingly older and vulnerable, it’s the healthcare industry that is packing their bags.
The Cicero Institute also reports that Maine offers just 35 primary care residency positions annually, and 45.2% of those residents end up practicing outside the state.
Regarding the totality of the circumstances, it is projected that the state of Maine will be short 120 primary care providers by the year 2030. This is due to significant factors such as population growth, the aging population and a rise in the number of insured individuals, which is partly due to the Affordable Care Act.
The Maine State Legislature directed the University of Maine System (UMS) to conduct studies assessing the feasibility of creating Maine’s first public medical school in Penobscot County, likely in affiliation with UMaine’s flagship campus.
According to UMS, “Following a competitive request that generated multiple proposals, UMS has selected Tripp Umbach to assist with the study. The firm has worked with most U.S. medical schools over the past 30 years including in Maine, and conducted some 50 medical school feasibility studies, including in rural states such as Idaho and Montana.”
Tripp Umbach, founded in 1990, has completed national studies since 1995 for all 130 medical schools and 400 teaching hospitals for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). It’s safe to say that we’re in good hands.
UMS chose Tripp Umbach due to the consulting firm’s experience with innovative graduate medical education models such as multi-state programs, health system-affiliated medical schools and state pathway initiatives that are in partnership with established out-of-state medical schools. This is a promising step into bettering Maine’s healthcare industry.
There have also been notable fiscal contributions to support efforts to revitalize the state’s healthcare sector, as well.
According to Sen. Collin’s website, “U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that she advanced $52,350,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending for the University of Maine (UMaine) System in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) and Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration Appropriations bills.”
The bill, recently approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee, is now pending review by the full Senate and House of Representatives.
Of this $52,350,000 in funds, $45,000,000 has been requested to help support the construction of a health and life sciences complex at UMaine.
Once completed, the project will serve as the hub for all health and life science education and research at the university. It represents a major first step towards establishing a medical school at UMaine. More importantly, it signals a revitalization of Maine’s healthcare industry and sends a clear message: The health of the people of Maine matters.
