Prison Visitor Guide

Medical & Mental Health in Maine (Maine DOC)

How health care works in Maine prisons — the provider, the split co-pay rules, universal medication-assisted treatment, behavioral health, pregnancy protections, and how to raise a concern.

Last reviewed: 2026-06-12

Getting Care

Comprehensive health services in Maine prisons are provided by Wellpath, a contracted provider, with on-site primary care and referrals out to community specialists. A resident accesses care by submitting a Sick-Call Request Slip, which nursing staff collect and triage each day; an emergency is reported to any staff member for a 24/7 response. A resident with a chronic illness is seen by a provider at least every 180 days.

Co-pays

Maine’s co-pay rules are split by the type of care:

  • Behavioral health and substance-use care are provided at no cost — there is no co-pay for these services.
  • General medical and dental care carry a co-pay under the 2021 resident handbook — a small fee for a resident-initiated visit and for each medication. Because that figure dates to 2021, confirm the current amount with the facility.
  • Care initiated by staff is exempt, and no resident is denied necessary care for inability to pay. By statute, an indigent person cannot be billed for future services or medications.

Medication-Assisted Treatment

Maine provides medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder system-wide. After a 2019 pilot, the department phased in universal access — MAT is available to any resident for whom it is medically appropriate, regardless of sentence length. The program includes naloxone (Narcan) and training on release, and continuity into the community: partner organizations connect residents to community MAT before release, and MaineCare coverage is arranged for eligible people leaving custody. Enrollment is decided by the medical provider, and participation is voluntary.

Behavioral and Mental Health

A Behavioral Health Team provides assessment and treatment, described by the department as trauma-informed. Services range from individual and group therapy to an Intensive Mental Health Unit at the Maine State Prison for acute psychiatric needs, residential and outpatient substance-use treatment, medication for substance use disorder, psychiatry, and 24/7 crisis intervention. Care is voluntary except in an emergency or where safety requires otherwise.

Pregnancy Care

Maine law sharply limits the use of restraints on a person known to be pregnant. A facility may not use restraints during transport, labor, delivery, or postpartum recovery, and leg or waist restraints may not be used at any time, with only a narrow exception on a documented finding of an extraordinary security or medical circumstance — and even then, no restraints during active labor and childbirth, and a medical provider’s request to remove restraints must be honored.

Raising a Concern

A resident raises a problem — including about medical or mental-health care — through the grievance process. An informal attempt to resolve the issue with the responsible supervisor comes first, followed by a formal complaint with multiple levels of review; medical and mental-health grievances have their own track. Completing this process is generally required before a related lawsuit. Specific filing deadlines are set in the full policy.

For a family member, the channels are different:

  • Maine DOC posts a Compliment/Complaint form for the public, handled by its Office of Professional Review, and the Central Office can be reached at (207) 287-2711.
  • To report sexual abuse or harassment, a third party can use the department’s PREA hotline at 1-855-279-4763, email PREA.DOC@maine.gov, or write the PREA Coordinator at 111 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0111. A PREA grievance from a resident has no time limit and no informal-resolution requirement.
  • Maine releases information about a resident only as shown on the public resident search unless the resident has signed a release of information.

Maine does not currently have an independent corrections ombuds; a 2026 bill to create one did not pass as introduced, and the standing oversight bodies are each facility’s Board of Visitors.

Where to Get Help

Several Maine organizations work with incarcerated people and their families: the Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition (mentoring, reentry housing, and a legislative tracker; (207) 844-1470), the ACLU of Maine (know-your-rights guides on MAT and on filing a grievance), and NAMI Maine for mental-health support (HelpLine 1-800-464-5767).

Verify Before Acting

For the general, nationwide overview of this topic, see the national guide: Know Your Rights.

Sources

This page is compiled from the following publicly available sources. Policies change without notice — confirm current details with the facility before relying on them.