Interfaith leaders held a vigil outside U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ Portland office on Sept. 25, 2025 urging her to push for health care subsidies in a must-pass government funding bill. (Photo courtesy of Maine People’s Alliance)

As the end of the fiscal year approaches, pressure is building on Maine’s congressional delegation, specifically Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, to push for a stopgap measure that includes an extension of health insurance subsidies. 

In a statement to Maine Morning Star, Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said that she supports extending the credit but believes they should be addressed outside the must-pass spending bill. She noted that, unlike funding the government, the subsidies don’t have a Sept. 30 deadline. They expire at the end of the calendar year, though open enrollment begins Nov. 1. 

Democrats are trying to use the leverage of a looming government shutdown to push for an extension of these subsidies and other priorities they otherwise would likely not be able to enact under GOP control. It’s become a familiar approach for Congress, though the party roles have been reversed.  

Known as the enhanced premium tax credit, the subsidies lower the cost of health insurance for people who buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Of the 61,000 Maine people who enroll through CoverME.gov, the state’s online marketplace, 85% rely on premium tax credits to reduce their monthly costs.

“It is clear that we need to act on this issue, but our focus right now needs to be on avoiding a harmful government shutdown that would cause disruptions to vital programs that many Americans rely on every day,” Collins said in a statement. “Our constituents should not be used as pawns amid a needlessly partisan impasse.”

The White House sent guidance to departments and agencies, telling them that if a shutdown begins Wednesday, they’re expected to institute mass firings and layoffs.

Collins added that passing a continuing resolution would afford Congress the time to complete its annual funding bills and take up legislation to extend the subsidies this fall. 

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump canceled a planned meeting with Democratic congressional leaders to discuss the minority party’s asks, which in addition to extending the subsidies include reversing the Medicaid cuts made in the GOP spending bill in July. 

With the president unwilling to negotiate with Democrats on funding now, some worry that leaves little assurance that the subsidies will be extended later, as Collins suggests. 

In September, the Maine Bureau of Insurance announced the finalized 2026 health insurance rates, with an average increase of 23.9% for the individual market and 17.5% for the small employer market.

Thousands of Mainers could see their monthly health premiums increase by as much as 117% if the subsidies are not extended. 

Superintendent of the Maine Bureau of Insurance Robert Carey attributed the increased costs to the instability of federal policies, including the expiring credits and the impacts of Trump’s tariffs. Other factors include the growing costs of medical services and prescription drugs.

Several groups held events in Maine on Thursday specifically calling on Collins to extend the subsidies and highlighting what’s at stake for Mainers. 

During a virtual event hosted by the Maine chapter of Protect Our Care, a progressive healthcare advocacy organization, Briana Bononcini, co-owner of the Portland Hunt + Alpine Club cocktail bar said she has been enrolled in a health insurance plan through the Affordable Care Act since 2014. Not having insurance tied to an employer allowed her to start her small business while ensuring she and her children were still covered. 

“It’s been disappointing to see Susan Collins say that she supports restoring the premium tax credit, but the reality is that she could have stopped this from occurring and she chose not to,” Bononcini said. “I really think that if she truly cares, like she says she does, she will show up and make sure that the premium tax credits are in the bill.”

State Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot) spoke at that event about broader implications of losing the credit, which he described as an existential threat to the entire health care system in the state.

Pointing to strides the state Legislature has made to expand health care coverage, such as creating a state-based insurance marketplace and reducing medical debt, Tipping said “these federal changes undo all of that work.” 

“Fewer Mainers will have health coverage, and when they’re sick, they’re going to go to the emergency room, which is the most expensive form of health care,” he said. “Mainers will pay for this in the form of increased premiums in their private insurance, and it’s going to hit Maine small business owners first and hardest.”

Additionally, faith leaders organized under Maine’s largest community organization, Maine People’s Alliance, held a vigil outside Collins’ Portland office on Thursday urging her to do what they see as the moral thing. 

“Accountability is a core part of my Unitarian Universalist faith,” said Rev. Tara Humphries of Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church in Portland. “We are individuals, part of something much larger and more deeply connected than our own selves, and justice calls us to consider that when making decisions that impact the whole. So, I hold my elected officials accountable when they fail to act in the best interest of their most vulnerable constituents.”

Many of the speakers also called on Collins to stop funding to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in light of continued accusations of unlawful activity. 

“As people of faith, we believe the health and well-being of all our neighbors matter,” said Rev. Alison Patton of First Congregational Church of South Portland. “So we are calling on Senator Collins to step up and demand the budget changes we need, to ensure legal protections for immigrant Mainers, resist illegal ICE activity and preserve access to healthcare for all Mainers.”

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