$2.8 Million from Rural Health Fund Senator Collins Authored Will Keep Penobscot Community Health Care Open

BANGOR, ME – U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, welcomed the announcement that $2.8 million in federal funding drawn from the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), which she authored, will ensure Penobscot Community Health Care (PCHC) avoids an imminent bankruptcy filing. PCHC is Maine's largest federally qualified health center and serves approximately 50,000 patients. “This is welcome news for the thousands of Mainers who rely on PCHC for access to essential health care services. PCHC's financial challenges demonstrate exactly why this historic federal investment is so critical. With rural hospitals and health centers across Maine facing serious financial challenges, and emergency departments, maternity wards, and other hospital units facing the threat of closure, protecting access to medical care in rural communities has never been more important,” said Senator Collins. “That is why I fought to establish this $50 billion program to help ensure that Mainers and Americans in rural communities across the country can continue receiving the care they need close to home. While significant challenges remain, I am pleased to see these federal resources being put to use to help PCHC continue serving Maine families and prevent further losses of essential health care services in communities across our state.” The funding comes from the $50 billion RHTP, the largest single federal investment in rural health care in more than two decades, which Senator Collins proposed during negotiations over the 2025 budget reconciliation legislation. In December 2025, Senator Collins announced that Maine would receive $190 million in first-year funding through the program. Earlier this year, when Maine's funding was at risk of being rescinded and reallocated to other states because the state had missed implementation milestones and provided inadequate information, Senator Collins intervened directly with the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. She urged agency officials to work with Maine to bring the state into compliance with program requirements, which then occurred. Senator Collins has also worked through her role on the Senate Appropriations Committee to secure nearly $300 million in Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) for health care infrastructure, including $207 million for 89 hospital and rural health care projects across Maine since 2021. These investments have supported the expansion of emergency departments, community health centers, hospital modernization, and other critical medical services. Examples include nearly $13.4 million to expand Millinocket Regional Hospital's emergency department, more than $10.8 million for emergency and oncology care services at Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway, and $6.8 million to upgrade St. Joseph Hospital's emergency department in Bangor. Senator Collins also previously secured more than $1.3 million in CDS to help PCHC expand access to dental care in Midcoast Maine. ###