For me, serving in the Maine Legislature is really an extension of my role as a coach, teacher, parent and grandparent. I see the challenges that working families, especially families with young kids, face on a daily basis. At the same time, I want to make sure that older Mainers and retirees, like me and my wife, can afford to remain a part of the community we’ve invested our entire lives in.

Joe Rafferty Courtesy photo

If you look back at the laws that have taken effect this past year, it’s clear what my priorities have been, and I’m really proud of that. I listened to my constituents and delivered on measures to combat high energy prices, improve access to health care and prescription drugs, promote economic opportunity and support working families, seniors and veterans.

In the Maine Legislature, all non-emergency laws take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns for the year. With so much going on, I wanted to take a moment to break down the new laws that took effect this month and explain what they mean for you and your family.

For starters, we found new ways to improve access to postpartum care for new moms. Ensuring that parents can access health care is critical to the health and well-being of our young families. Thanks to a new law sponsored by my colleague Sen. Anne Carney, all state-regulated health plans issued or renewed on or after Jan. 1, 2023, will be required to provide 12 months of postpartum care.

The postpartum period can be very sensitive and vulnerable for moms. Postpartum care ensures our newborns and new parents get a strong and healthy start.

I also know that there are many Mainers who want to become parents but really struggle. It’s why I spoke in favor of a new law that will improve access to health care plans that cover fertility care. The new law requires health insurance carriers to provide coverage for fertility diagnostic care, for fertility treatment if the enrollee is a fertility patient and for fertility preservation services on all state-regulated health care plans issued or renewed on or after Jan. 1, 2024.

But our work to improve access to care and protect the health of our communities didn’t stop there. I voted to improve access to lifesaving medications for Mainers who have certain chronic conditions, improve access to birth control coverage, and safeguard against deceptive practices between insurers and pharmacy benefit managers.

Beyond that, an often overlooked and under-supported part of our health care system is our local emergency medical services departments. This year, we heard from so many local EMS departments about their challenges of attracting and retaining staff — this puts our entire community at risk. While there is still work to do, I am proud to say that Maine lawmakers listened and created a new program to help EMS departments recruit and retain workers, as well as grow their departments and plan for the future.

The work that EMS workers do is nothing less than heroic, and we need be sure that these lifesaving jobs be filled.

Finally, we passed laws to support our veterans and older Mainers.

The first measure allows veterans who served in the Armed Forces during the period from Feb. 1, 1955, to Feb. 27, 1961, to qualify for the Veteran Property Tax Exemption based on the status of the property beginning on or after April 1, 2023. I was proud to co-sponsor and support a second law that provides the refundable Veteran Property Tax Fairness Credit for veterans who are 100 percent permanently and totally disabled.

I’m also proud to say we were able to provide ongoing funding for Meals on Wheels, a critical lifeline for many of our homebound friends and neighbors. These programs received a lot of support during the height of the pandemic, but we know the demand for their services won’t just go away.

We want to continue to support these programs and the agencies that assist them for the foreseeable future. That’s why we passed a new law that allows the Department of Health and Human Services to reimburse an Area Agency on Aging, like the Southern Maine Agency on Aging, for mileage that exceeds the state reimbursement rate.

Mainers deserve legislators that listen to their concerns and turn their needs and ideas into action. Reflecting on all the work we did this year, it’s clear to me that Maine lawmakers kept our constituents interests at the forefront of our agenda. While these are just some of the highlights, I am proud of what we accomplished for you and your family.

Joseph Rafferty is a member of the Maine State Senate representing District 34, Acton, Kennebunk, Lebanon, Moody, North Berwick, Wells, West Lebanon and part of Berwick. He can be reached at Joe.Rafferty@legislature.maine.gov or 207-590-9902.