Under Lambrew’s leadership, Maine expanded affordable health care to more than 100,000 people, led the nation in COVID-19 response, made historic investments in health and human services, and rebuilt the Department
Governor Janet Mills announced today that Jeanne Lambrew, Ph.D., will step down from her position as Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services, effective May 31, 2024, to accept a position leading national health policy development and to teach at Harvard University.
Commissioner Lambrew, one of the nation’s foremost health policy experts, was the first Cabinet member Governor Mills announced following her election in 2018. Under Commissioner Lambrew’s leadership, Maine has expanded affordable health care to more than 100,000 people, led the nation in COVID-19 response, made historic investments in health and human services, and rebuilt the Department and returned it to its core mission, among other accomplishments.
“I have worked with my fair share of Health and Human Services Commissioners throughout my career, and I can unequivocally say that Jeanne Lambrew is a once-in-a-generation public servant. She expanded health care to more than 100,000 people, lowered our uninsured rate, guided our best-in-the-nation pandemic response, implemented historic investments in behavioral health and other vital services, and rebuilt the department to restore faith in its core mission,” said Governor Janet Mills. “Leading the largest department in Maine state government – one that touches the lives of nearly one in three people in Maine and deals with some of the most difficult issues we face – is not easy by any means. It brings with it immense and complex challenges, some of which we know we must continue to work on, but Jeanne has been a true leader and an unwavering source of strength and stability for the Department and the people of Maine through some of our state’s most challenging times. She met those challenges with her sharp intellect, her unyielding determination, and her unmatched sense of compassion, empathy, and heart. I have been fortunate to have in Jeanne an invaluable advisor and a friend, and Maine has been fortunate to have in her a Health and Human Services Commissioner of the highest caliber. I am deeply sad to see her go, but, on behalf of the people of Maine whose lives she has unquestionably improved through her service, I thank her from the bottom of my heart.”
“It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve Governor Mills and residents of the State of Maine,”said Commissioner Lambrew. “The last five and a half years have been extraordinarily challenging and rewarding, with the Department staff, Cabinet, partners, and people of Maine responding to a global pandemic, catastrophic storms, and human tragedies with skill, compassion, and results. More work remains to be done, but the Department is well-positioned to continue its vital work.”
“Commissioner Lambrew has led DHHS with integrity, intelligence, authenticity and empathy. Under her leadership, the Department has restored and expanded critical health and human services to Maine people while responding to unprecedented and unpredictable challenges,” said Representative Michele Meyer of Eliot, House Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee. "I am grateful for her dedication to our State and have deeply enjoyed the opportunity to work closely with her and her team, especially on our shared goal of keeping children safe by making families strong. The impact of her leadership has been significant and enduring, and she leaves DHHS stronger."
“While we are sad to see her go, the Maine Hospital Association extends its heartfelt and sincere thanks to Commissioner Lambrew for her incredible leadership,” said Steven Michaud, President of the Maine Hospital Association. “There were many trying times throughout the COVID-19 pandemic but the Commissioner never wavered in her commitment to getting hospitals the critical support they needed to meet the challenge of caring for our communities, whether it be additional workers, testing supplies, PPE, or vaccines. Beyond the pandemic, she has led crucial work to expand access to health coverage, invest in Maine’s health care workforce, and strengthen Maine’s health care system overall. We owe her a great debt of gratitude as does all of Maine and we wish her the very best in her next endeavor.”
“The news of Commissioner Lambrew’s transition is bittersweet,” said Ann Woloson, Executive Director, Consumers for Affordable Health Care. “So many Mainers have benefited from her leadership and from the amazing work and dedication of the team she has put together in the Department. Tens of thousands of Mainers have health coverage and are accessing the health care they need as a result of policy initiatives the Commissioner moved forward. Her policy experience and service on behalf of Mainers has made Maine a better place to live and work. She will be missed but I know she will continue her good work as she moves forward.”
“We thank Commissioner Lambrew for contributing her health policy expertise to the State of Maine,”said Maine Medical Association President Paul R. Cain, MD. “She was a strong partner with Maine physicians in managing the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing access to health care in our state. We wish her well in her new role at The Century Foundation.”
Starting on June 10, 2024, Dr. Lambrew will become the Director of Health Care Reform for The Century Foundation, a Washington-based think tank that conducts research, develops solutions, and drives policy change. Additionally, Dr. Lambrew has been invited by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health to join them as an Adjunct Professor of Health Policy.
Before returning to Maine to become Health and Human Services Commissioner, Lambrew had a long and distinguished career in the field of health care policy, notably as the Deputy Assistant to President Obama for health policy from 2013 to 2017, helping to ensure execution of the President’s health policy agenda including drafting, implementing, and defending the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Under Commissioner Lambrew’s leadership, with support from Governor Mills and the rest of the Cabinet, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services has returned to its mission of promoting health, safety, resilience, and opportunity for Maine people._ _This has been made possible by historic investments proposed by Governor Mills and supported by the Legislature, as well as a 70 percent increase in the amount of federal dollars supporting health and human services in Maine since 2018.
More specifically, accomplishments during Commissioner Lambrew’s tenure include:
- Health Coverage: At the Governor’s direction on her first day in office, DHHS expanded Medicaid, helping over 100,000 residents gain access to life-saving coverage, and extended coverage to additional children and pregnant people. It successfully implemented a state-based Marketplace, CoverME.gov, as part of the Made for Maine Health Coverage Act that also resulted in a unique waiver that lowered health costs for small businesses for the first time in over 20 years. Maine’s uninsured rate dropped the fastest of any state in 2021 and in the last few years has been lower than ever.
- COVID-19 Response and Public Health: Maine managed one of the best-rated state responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to analyses by the Commonwealth Fund and the National Bureau of Economic Research (PDF). This effort included addressing disparities in health and response, partly through community care teams that helped nearly 30,000 Maine residents, and taking licensing action to protect the health and safety of nursing facility staff and residents. Maine had the highest COVID-19 vaccination rate of older residents in the nation and one of the lowest death rates in the nation. DHHS also implemented policies, supported by voters, that yielded a record-high childhood immunization rate in the 2023–2024 school year.
- Health Care Workforce: Given the Governor’s priority and the need after the pandemic, DHHS has made considerable investment alongside the Department of Labor, in the health care workforce, which has rebounded and grown nearly 10 percent since January 2022. DHHS used federal American Rescue Plan funds to implement recruitment and retention bonuses to more than 24,000 direct care workers and supervisors, with agency staff increasing by over 20 percent. DHHS implemented the Higher Opportunities for Pathways to Employment ([HOPE) program](https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/blog/hope-program-supporting-maine-parent-scholars-pursuing-higher-education-2023–09–08), expanding the number of parent-scholars served by over 40 percent between August 2021 and 2023, with many graduates going into health care jobs.
- Behavioral Health: Also critical in the aftermath of the pandemic, the Mills Administration has made historic behavioral health investments of nearly half a billion in the last two biennial budgets and over$30 million more in the recently enacted supplemental budget. With partners, DHHS successfully launched both the state’s first crisis receiving center in Portland and its 988 crisis line. It continues to work closely with Lewiston and affected communities on mental health support in the wake of the tragedy in October 2023. In the past five years, Riverview Psychiatric Center was recertified by the federal government and Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center opened the state’s first unit to serve older people who have severe, persistent mental illness. in the recently enacted supplemental budget. With partners, DHHS successfully launched both the state’s first crisis receiving center in Portland and its 988 crisis line. It continues to work closely with Lewiston and affected communities on mental health support in the wake of the tragedy in October 2023. In the past five years, Riverview Psychiatric Center was recertified by the federal government and Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center opened the state’s first unit to serve older people who have severe, persistent mental illness.
- Long-Term Services and Supports: Last year, Maine ranked fourth best among states for direct support worker policies and economic status. Efforts to promote community living resulted in a 46 percent increase between 2017 to 2022 in adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities receiving residential services supports rather than living in group homes. DHHS plans to further promote such choices through an innovative lifespan waiver for individuals with disabilities and long-overdue nursing facility reform in the next year as part of Maine’s award-winning Medicaid payment reform system.
- Children’s Services: As part of the work of the Children’s Cabinet, DHHS increased focus on the quality, affordability, and accessibility of child care, resulting in a 34 percent reduction in the gap between supply and demand between 2019 and 2022. Through the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, more than 4,100 child care slots have been created. Maine made permanent worker stipends totaling about $2.5 million monthly and expanded subsidies for parents to 125 percent of state median income starting in July 2024. DHHS has also invested in the child welfare system in response to challenges and to improve child safety, including support for front-line workers, reducing the vacancy rate by 25 percentbetween January and April 2024, and $1 million to jump-start a plan to prevent the need for child welfare intervention.
- Service and Systems: DHHS has strengthened its workforce from an all-time low in 2018 following dismantling and consolidation efforts under the previous administration. It has successfully implemented a new online portal for MaineCare eligibility, an electronic health record for the two State psychiatric hospitals, a child welfare system replacement, and call center improvements. DHHS has also improved its constituent service and responses to requests for information despite requests nearly doubling between 2022 and 2023.
The Governor will name an Acting Commissioner for the Department prior to Commissioner Lambrew’s departure if a permanent Commissioner has not yet been nominated. Any candidate for commissioner will be subject to a hearing before the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee and confirmation by the Maine State Senate.