Office of Affordable Health Care in the News
Panels & Guest Presentations
Untangling the Complex Web of Health Care Financial Interests, OAHC Executive Director Meg Garratt-Reed as Panelist, April 10, 2026
S8E3 Maine Healthcare: What Reduced Health Insurance Subsidies Could Mean in Maine, OAHC Executive Director Meg Garratt-Reed as Guest Speaker, January 5, 2026
2026
While Mainers still reeling from health insurance hikes, insurers propose more, Maine Morning Star, June 23, 2026
“In a presentation in February to the Maine Legislature’s health committee, the Office of Affordable Healthcare — an independent agency established to study cost-efficient healthcare — said that hospital pricing varies vastly across the state, and sometimes within the same city. For example, in 2023, the cost of a knee replacement was $15,000 higher at Maine Medical Center compared to Northern Light Mercy Hospital, both of which are in Portland.”
For patients throughout Maine, price cap legislation is just what the doctor ordered, Central Maine Opinion, April 5, 2026
Rising cost of medical care can’t be an unsolvable problem, Bangor Daily News Editorial, March 19, 2026
“What lawmakers shouldn’t do is punt this problem down the road. Maine doesn’t need a study committee on medical costs. It essentially already has one and it brought forward the idea for caps on hospital prices.”
To stem rising health insurance premiums, Maine proposal would cap hospital prices, Maine Public, February 12, 2026
"While there's a lot of focus on insurance when we talk about affordability of healthcare, looking at the data, really the primary driver of these premium increases and out of pocket increases that consumers in Maine have been seeing over the past few years is the cost of the healthcare services that are being used," she (Garratt-Reed) says.
2021 – 2023
Office of Affordable Health Care holds first ever public hearing, Maine Public, September 27, 2023
Gov. Mills nominates director of new health care agency, Portland Press Herald, January 30, 2023
Gov. Mills nominates director for new Office of Affordable Health Care, Maine Public, January 30, 2023
Office of Affordable Health Care becomes law in Maine, Associated Press, July 17, 2021