Overwhelming support from Maine lawmakers to require insurance coverage for PFAS blood tests

Both chambers of the Maine Legislature have thrown overwhelming support behind legislation that would require insurance carriers in Maine to cover medically necessary blood tests for so-called forever chemicals. 

The Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed LD 582, which would require health insurance carriers to cover blood tests for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, when they are deemed medically necessary. The House of Representatives then voted 115-26 in support of its passage Wednesday with backing from all Democrats and many Republicans. 

The bill will go back to each chamber for enactment votes before it can be sent to Gov. Janet Mills for final approval. Because the bill will require some funding, it also needs to be included in the upcoming budget.

Thirty years ago, Rep. Paul Flynn (R-Albion) received a letter that the dairy farm next to his home would be spreading sludge on its land. At the time, he was told there was nothing to worry about. But like many Maine residents, he now lives in an area surrounded by PFAS, which are also known as forever chemicals because of their durability.

“This is something that has snuck up on us,” Flynn said on the House floor Wednesday. “It is in front of us, and it is very, very real.”

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has identified more than 1,000 sites throughout the state that could be affected by former sludge application. The state has a robust response program that currently provides technical and financial assistance to more than 80 farms with varying levels of contamination. That work will continue thanks to legislation passed earlier this year enshrining the program into law.

But contamination isn’t just contained to the land. It can get into waterways, drinking wells and ultimately, people’s bloodstreams. Exposure to the chemicals has been linked to health concerns including cancer, liver damage, pregnancy complications, increased cholesterol levels and more. Workplace exposure is high for firefighters, chemical manufacturers and ski wax technicians while communities exposed to spills of PFAS-laden products, like the one in Brunswick last summer, also face risk.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday it is changing the standards for certain types of PFAS in drinking water that were finalized under the Biden administration and could have lowered exposure for millions of Americans. While the federal agency is weakening the limit for some of the forever chemicals, it is maintaining others but delaying the deadline to meet the standards.

Rep. Shelley Rudnicki (R-Fairfield) said she has had her blood tested three times since her community received notification of high PFAS levels. The tests showed high levels of the forever chemicals in her body. However, she said she couldn’t support LD 582 because she doesn’t believe in mandates. 

“I’m not a fan, obviously, of the PFAS, but I’m also not a fan of the mandates, so I will be voting against this,” Rudnicki said on the House floor. 

She also raised concerns that the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee suggested the state use money from the PFAS Fund to help defray costs. Mills created the fund in 2022 to help address contaminated farmland and the Legislature appropriated $60 million for that use.

The committee also amended the bill to prohibit insurance carriers from imposing any cost-sharing to cover the blood tests, and pushed back the start date to apply to health plans issued or renewed after Jan. 1, 2027.