The Maine Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee voted unanimously Wednesday in favor of a bill that would improve general anesthesia reimbursement rates for complex dental care.

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services said during the meeting that they supported the bill after it was amended to address concerns agency officials raised during a public hearing last week.

“We compromised and met in the middle,” said Michael Dowling, a Yarmouth pediatric dentist, in an interview after the committee meeting. “This would be a huge win for access to dental care everywhere in the state.”

Dowling and the Maine Dental Association have advocated for the bill, sponsored by House Speaker Ryan Fecteau.

The bill will now likely head to votes in the full House and Senate.

Dentists testified last week that Medicaid reimbursement rates are so low they lose money each time general anesthesia is given, limiting the number of surgeries they can do and resulting in long wait times for children in need of care.

The amended bill would increase anesthesia reimbursement rates from $151 for every 15 minutes a patient is under general anesthesia to $203. The original bill would have increased reimbursement rates to $250.

The bill was also amended so that rates would increase for all patients who need general anesthesia — children and adults. The original bill would have only affected pediatric patients.

It would also expand the reimbursement rate for surgery performed in all dental settings, not just surgery centers. Dowling, who opened a surgery center next to his practice in 2025, said some simpler surgeries could be performed in a dentist’s office, while more complex cases would need to be done in a hospital or surgery center.