N.B. island residents told Medicare won’t cover some medical services in Maine

Residents of Campobello Island, N.B., can no longer receive medical coverage in Maine.

The mayor of Campobello, N.B., says island residents are being told Medicare won’t cover non-emergency medical services in Maine.

Harvey Matthews says some residents began to receive notice about a week-and-a-half ago that regular, non-urgent appointments wouldn’t be covered by New Brunswick Medicare at the Regional Medical Center at Lubec.

An international bridge connects Campobello to Lubec. It is the only mainland link during winter months.

“It’s just one thing after another, it seems,” says Matthews. The island’s current issues with tariffs and former pandemic restrictions have been challenging, he says.

Kathy Bockus, the Progressive Conservative MLA for Charlotte-Campobello, brought the topic to question period on Thursday at the New Brunswick legislature. Bockus says a family doctor has typically visited Campobello once a week, with other medical appointments covered for island residents in Maine for decades.

“We have elderly residents, like a 91-year-old grandmother, who can’t drive all the way through Maine to St. Stephen and Saint John for a doctor’s appointment, if she can get one,” says Bockus. The hours-long journey includes four border crossings, she says.

Health Minister Dr. John Dornan says the department has received similar information from Campobello residents, calling it “a very serious matter.”

“Many people on Campobello do receive good, timely, high-quality care in Lubec, at this point in time, in the absence of other care,” says Dornan.

“We are investigating, and we will fix this oversight.”

A request for comment has been made to the Regional Medical Center at Lubec.

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