AUGUSTA, Maine (WGME) — The Maine Senate is advancing a “right to repair” electronics bill.

The legislation aims to lower repair costs and reduce electronic waste by forcing manufacturers to share parts and repair tools with the public.

The bill faces more votes in the house and senate.

Ten states have already passed electronic “right to repair” laws.

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (WAGM) -Northern Maine Community College’s registered nursing program has been ranked No. 2 in Maine for 2025 by NursingExplorer.com, a national education resource that evaluates nursing programs based on graduate success on licensure examinations.

The NMCC program earned the recognition with a 96.60% weighted average pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses over the past three years, placing the college among the top-performing nursing programs in the state. The ranking comes as demand for qualified nurses remains strong across Maine, particularly in rural and northern communities.

“These results demonstrate the dedication of our students, faculty and clinical partners who work together to ensure graduates are prepared for the realities of today’s health care environment,” said Andrew Gagnon, RN, MSN, CCRN, NR-P, CHSE, department chair of nursing, EMS and allied health at Northern Maine Community College. “We are proud to see our program recognized for its consistent quality as we continue preparing nurses to serve communities across Aroostook County and throughout Maine.”

Maine is home to approximately 15 nursing education programs, with most concentrated in southern and central population centers such as Portland, Lewiston, Bangor and Augusta. This distribution can create access challenges for students in more rural regions, making northern training opportunities especially important for local workforce development.

“Northern Maine Community College is proud to provide nursing education that meets the highest standards while remaining accessible to students in northern Maine,” said Doug Binsfeld, Ed.D., president of Northern Maine Community College. “Our graduates make a meaningful impact in rural communities and are equally prepared to pursue opportunities in larger health care settings across the state.”

Employment prospects for nurses in Maine remain favorable, driven by an aging population and ongoing workforce shortages. Maine’s participation in the Nurse Licensure Compact also allows licensed nurses to practice in more than 30 participating states, expanding career mobility and professional opportunities for graduates.

According to NursingExplorer.com, rankings are based on NCLEX pass-rate data collected over a three-year period. Results are weighted by the number of test takers in each cohort, with additional emphasis placed on more recent outcomes to reflect current program performance.

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PORTLAND (WGME) – New numbers from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services are revealing a recent spike in cases of alleged fraud, waste and abuse in Maine over the past few years.

The state released the data after CBS13 filed a public records request.

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services Fraud Investigation and Recovery Unit is responsible for looking into allegations of fraud within major state assistance programs.

That includes MaineCare, SNAP and temporary assistance for needy families.

We looked back eight years to get a sense of just how many cases the state has seen.

According to data CBS13 obtained through a public records request, in 2018, the unit received more than 1,400 fraud complaints.

In 2019, it was more than 1,000.

Amid all those complaints, investigators found 77 were “intentional program violations.”

Many more over those two years were referred to the Attorney General, local district attorneys and even federal prosecutors for review.

We don’t know the outcomes of those cases.

Fast forward to 2024, where complaints reached close to 1,000 again. This time, the unit found 164 intentional violations.

Fifty-one were referred to local DAs, five to the AG and three to the federal government.

Last year, there were still hundreds of complaints, and investigators found only 52 intentional violations, with 38 cases referred for prosecution on some level.

And as of February of this year, the unit has received 94 complaints and found three program violations.

So far, no cases have been referred for prosecution.

Maine DHHS also has a program integrity unit, focused on waste, fraud or abuse within Maine’s Medicaid program.

Complaints have risen there, too, from 153 in 2023 to 183 in last year, a nearly 17 percent increase.

About a dozen of those cases were referred to the U.S. Inspector General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which accepted all for investigation or prosecution.

The Maine Attorney General’s Office says when a complaint is referred to them, it’s reviewed, and the AG then decides whether there is enough evidence to move forward.

We’re still waiting on a response from the U.S. Inspector General about how they handle these case referrals.