More than three weeks into a computer and phone system outage at Central Maine Healthcare, patients say they're still having a hard time reaching their doctors, accessing medical records, getting prescriptions refilled and scheduling appointments.

King told reporters the bill as written would be devastating for Maine hospitals and patients as well as food aid recipients, and would tax lower-income Mainers more heavily than higher-income Mainers.

More than 38,000 adult Mainers with disabilities are enrolled in MaineCare, the state version of Medicaid. Advocates say the future of programs that help people with disabilities live in the community is at risk if Congress slashes hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid as proposed under the pending budget bill.

During a virtual press conference Tuesday, Advocates raised concerns about possible cuts to funding for family planning services other than abortion, and about federal Medicaid restrictions that Planned Parenthood of Northern New England calls a "back door abortion ban.”

Here in Maine, state officials, health care providers, and advocates say the proposed cuts would have drastic consequences.

The Supreme Court's decision has no effect on Maine, which currently has no bans restricting access to gender-affirming care for minors.

Seven health care workers filed the lawsuit in 2021 claiming that the vaccine mandate was unconstitutional because it failed to provide religious exemptions.

Former state and federal CDC leader Dr. Shah addresses the question: "Are we ready for the next pandemic?"

Advocates say the bill is a “civil rights victory” for people with disabilities in Maine.

Demand for the service is growing, but its funding has become the target of federal cuts.