Maine Chapter of American Institute of Architects launches statewide housing design contest

The Maine Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Maine) has announced the launch of its 207 Home: Design Competition, aimed at identifying innovative and sustainable housing solutions to address community needs across Maine.

The 207 HOME Design Competition is open to all Maine
residents, licensed architects, professionals, the public, all
Maine high school and Maine college students. The
contest aims at identifying innovative and sustainable
housing solutions to address community needs
across Maine. COURTESY PHOTO   

The competition is open to Maine designi firms, professionals, residents and students enrolled in Maine high schools or colleges to submit visionary housing designs through Nov. 14, 2025.

Thanks to a generous AARP Community Challenge Grant, this design contest is intended to spark innovation to improve Maine communities for people of all ages. Participants are encouraged to submit creative proposals for built environments that address the diverse housing needs of underserved communities, considering factors such as age, ability, income, and other significant community housing challenges.

The competition aligns with recent legislative advances in Maine – notably LD 2003, which promotes Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), and LD 1829, which allows greater flexibility for constructing one- to three-family homes on residential lots. The contest aims to showcase innovative solutions that help communities visualize practical, affordable, and inclusive housing options that support aging in place.

Submissions may include new work or previously designed or built projects. This year’s competition will also feature online educational sessions on accessibility, aging in place, and an innovative housing community currently under construction in Maine.

The full schedule is available on the AIA Maine events calendar and the competition website.

Entries will be evaluated by a panel of expert judges across four award categories: Professional, Public, Student – University, and Student – High School. Cash prizes will be awarded to winners in each category.

Judging will take place in late November, with finalists and category winners honored at a special reception and public exhibition on December 16, 2025.

AIA Maine believes in the power of creativity and collaboration to transform housing accessibility and affordability across the state. This competition presents an exceptional opportunity for Maine’s residents and students to shape the future of sustainable and inclusive housing solutions.

For full contest details, submission guidelines, and additional information, please visit www.aiamaine.org/aarp-contest.

About AIA Maine

AIA Maine is a state component of the American Institute of Architects. Their mission is to support architects and architecture through leadership, advocacy, fellowship, and design excellence. For more information about AIA Maine and ways to become involved, visit their website www.aiamaine.org or email kelli@aiamaine.org.

About the AARP Community Challenge

The AARP Community Challenge is a grant program to make tangible improvements in communities that jump-start long-term change. It is part of AARP’s nationwide Livable Communities initiative, which supports the efforts of cities, towns, neighborhoods and rural areas to become great places to live for people of all ages. To learn more, visit AARP.org/Livable. <

Maine DHHS and Maine Hospital Association agree to reform MaineCare rates

AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Maine Hospital Association have announced an agreement to reform hospital reimbursement rates to improve the health of Maine people.

Under the proposal, which will be included in the forthcoming supplemental budget proposal, every medical center in the state is estimated to receive roughly the same or higher reimbursement, based on information available in the fall of 2023. This proposal applies to all hospitals except for four psychiatric hospitals that are categorized differently under Medicaid.

Hospitals would become the latest major service area to undergo MaineCare’s award-winning process to ensure payment methodologies are data-driven, fair, consistent, informed by the public, and sufficient to promote access to quality care. The MaineCare rate reforms support high-quality health care for more than 400,000 Maine people and fair and sustainable reimbursement to Maine's health and social services providers, including hospitals.

Under the agreement provisions, hospitals would see improved reimbursement because the payments will better align with Medicare – a more consistent and fair approach to paying for outlier costs that relate to patient need – improved outpatient rates to encourage more community-based care when possible, and improved transparency and uniformity for similar hospitals across the reimbursement system as a whole. The agreement maximizes the available funding under federal payment limits and is subject to approval by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“This agreement helps MaineCare to move away from outdated and arbitrary rates and toward a uniform and fair system at a time when existing sources of ongoing revenue alone are not enough,” said DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew. “We thank the Maine Hospital Association and its members for their partnership in developing and supporting this proposal that meets our shared goal of improving the health and quality of care for Maine residents.”

Maine Hospital Association officials agree.

“This proposal provides our members with needed Medicaid rate increases at a critical time,” said Steve Michaud, President of the Maine Hospital Association. “Drawing down additional federal Medicaid dollars helps hospitals and their caregivers, eases the burden of escalating costs on Mainers and businesses who are paying for care, and helps the Maine economy at the same time. We thank the Department of Health and Human Services for its partnership in developing this plan that supports the health of Maine people.”

Specifically, the set of initiatives in the supplemental budget:

** Support MaineCare rate reform for hospital inpatient and outpatient services by investing $90.3 million in federal and state dollars in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2025, starting July 1, 2024;

** Finance most of this rate investment by increasing the hospital tax rate from 2.23 to 3.25 percent, raising $29.5 million in SFY 2025, starting January 1, 2025, to complement the Federal share of these MaineCare (Medicaid) payments; and

** Add $2.5 million of General Funds to the $6.3 million already in the FY24-25 biennial budget to help with rate reform, including for a transitional payment to assist York Hospital, which has a unique grandfathered funding structure, in moving to the new system consistent with all other acute care hospitals in the state. This payment to York Hospital is targeted, based on data shared with hospitals, to total $5.6 million annually for the next five years.

As part of rate reform, the plan would repeal both the tax on and supplemental payment to critical access hospitals effective December 31, 2024 while adjusting cost reimbursement from 109 to 104.5 percent starting on July 1, 2024.

Additionally, the budget proposal would direct that net hospital tax revenue be directed to the “Medical Care – Payments to Providers” program in the Department of Health and Human Services to be used for MaineCare hospital payments.

The agreement builds on MaineCare payment improvements to behavioral health providers, Federally qualified health centers, and for inpatient psychiatric and substance use care, which was implemented in July 2023 with a similar transition payment to Northern Maine Medical Center.

The Department’s sweeping and unprecedented plan to transform MaineCare (Maine’s Medicaid program) rate setting from a fragmented, often outdated and arbitrary approach into a coherent, streamlined and data-driven system is well under way. The plan is a culmination of Governor Mills’ directive to DHHS on her first day in office to expand MaineCare and develop a plan to make the health coverage program for low-income people more accessible, affordable, and sustainable. <