WGME, Channel 13 News Reporter, Anna Coon, caught up with Speaker Ryan Fecteau about one major provision in The Maine Essential Care & Support Workforce Enhancement Act he recently submitted.
The piece focuses on Part 1 of the bill which would allow employers to pay higher wages to essential care & support workers by increasing the labor-portion of the MaineCare reimbursement to employers to at least 140% of minimum wage ($20.51 in 2025.)
“These are the folks that are with our grandparents and oftentimes right up until the final moments of their lives,” Fecteau said. “When we think about the kind of work that’s being done by these folks in our communities, $20 really doesn’t sound like enough,” Fecteau said. “I don’t think it is, but it’s moving us in the right direction.”
Ben Hawkins, Director of Public Affairs for the Maine Health Care Association and co-chair of Maine’s Essential Care and Support Workforce’s Utilizing Technology to Bridge the Gap Working Group, is interviewed and the Maine Center for Economic Policy’s 2nd workforce report is referenced.