Fund for a Healthy Maine
For 25 years, Maine people have protected their investment in the Fund for a Healthy Maine (FHM), the state’s repository for payments from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement. The state has been a national leader in aligning the purpose of this funding with its uses, investing in youth tobacco use prevention, addiction treatment, and access to health services and care.
The FHM has been approaching a financial crossroads for several years, caused by declining payments from the settlement, which are based on national cigarette sales and do not include nicotine pouches and vaping products. The 2027 fiscal year marks the exhaustion of the FHM carryover funds that have been masking its looming structural deficit, which could mean cuts to programming if nothing is changed.
In the continuing services budget passed in March 2025, Maine lawmakers stepped up to protect the FHM in the current biennium. Taking this action in such a challenging environment is much appreciated by Maine’s public health professionals and acknowledges the value of prevention for Maine people and communities. But this was a one-time solution for an ongoing problem, so the future of the Fund remains uncertain.
We are in a moment of opportunity. We can take one final step to assure the Fund and its critical public health and prevention programs are financially stable and secure in the years ahead. Please support LD 1658, which will dedicate a portion of tobacco tax revenue into the Fund for a Healthy Maine.