Donna - You raise some good points, and I am not saying that there aren't people out there who abuse drugs, other than the prescriptions they are on. This is a problem for sure. But, should people be automatically put through tests (which are not medically necessary) to obtain prescriptions for medications that qualified professionals diagnosed in the first place. In my case, I have ADHD. This was diagnosed at the age of 41 years old - so this doesn’t even fall into the realm of whether someone feels that the ADHD diagnosis is given too freely. That is a debate for another day. And I am not saying that people don’t misuse their medications. What I am getting at is we, as Americans, are not allowed to act in ways that would, in any other situation constitute profiling. Police are not allowed to follow a person of African decent because of the color of their skin. Recently, a man from Turner was charged with a crime because he made an assumption about another man who was at the Auburn Lake Pull off. He followed the man out of the place and rammed his vehicle two times because he thought the man was gay. Citizens are not allowed to act in ways that are discriminatory toward others because of what we FEAR they may be or may be doing. Doctors should be no different. I DO understand the problem that people use and/or abuse drugs - I am not debating that. But we can't punish people financially because they have been diagnosed with some disorder (psychologically or otherwise) by a professional and then because they follow the doctors advice and take a prescribed medication, treat them as if they are criminals. IF they have prior convictions for drug use/abuse, or have been found to somehow be cheating the system, i.e., seeking the prescription from other doctors at the same time or pharmacy hopping - that is different. The Judicial system in this country is set up so that a person has to prove that you are guilty for a reason. And this is the ONLY situation that I am aware of where you are forced to prove your innocence without being formally charged with a crime, and at your own expense.

To speak to your assertion that those who complain about billing insurance (and I DO realize that you were not making accusations toward me) - there may be truth to that, but at the same time it still comes down to whether or not it is right to do this. Too many people have the attitude of "oh it does not matter - I have insurance to pay for that, whether it be a medical test, or a drug, or prolonged treatment. Insurance is there to be used - for sure. That is what people pay their premiums for, but as in any business - they have a bottom line to be mindful of as well.

When it comes to those who do not have insurance as you say, most doctors offices have forms to fill out for a sliding fee scale. These do not account for people who work full time and make enough money to put them over the federal guidelines for poverty. And, even if someone makes enough money where they do not qualify for the sliding fee scale, is it right to cause them to have to pay $600.00 for a test that is NOT medically necessary? The doctors office does not take into account how much a persons rent or mortgage is, or if they have a car payment, or what their heating oil bill is each year. Many people make enough money to pay for their bills, but don’t have disposable income.

Drug abuse has been a huge problem for a very long time. If people are caught abusing drugs they should be held accountable and punished. But, that is the job of law enforcement, DEA and the Judicial System - not the job of doctors to root out the drug abusers. If you answer a knock at your door and it is the local police officer wanting to ask you if you have seen your neighbor in the past few days - does he have the right to search your home if he feels your pupils are dilated too much, and therefore thinks you may be smoking Crack, or snorting Cocaine? No, of course he doesn’t. IF he sees a crack pipe sitting on the coffee table as he looks around you into your home, then he has probable cause, but looking at you does not give him the right to enter your home and search. Likewise if he looks in and sees a prescription bottle on your coffee table, he does not have the right to enter your home because you are on a prescription drug. If you are driving and get pulled over and an officer suspects you of driving under the influence, he can put your through field sobriety tests and perhaps a breathalyzer, but he cannot demand that you undergo a drug screening test AND force you to pay for it. So how is it that our doctors with whom we trust with our health care suddenly have more authority than the Police who are paid by our tax dollars to protect us from crime?

I appreciate your thoughtful reply to my comment here and can sympathize with what you are saying. It is a tough problem to solve. I don't pretend to know the answers - but I know when things are wrong - and I can even get past the privacy issues, as you said if you have nothing to hide… But, I cannot get past the piece where I am expected to foot the bill (for those who are uninsured) for the drug tests. I know the argument is that you don’t HAVE to pay the bill, you can choose to not get the prescription - but that is not fair treatment either.

Can you say "power trip?" Mr. Dana just who do you think you are? What makes you think you have the right to dictate what students at the University can or cannot do when it is not done on University Property? If it is done on private property it is not your place to hand out punishment for the action of the students. That is the job of the police AND if they are engaging in illegal activity the SHOULD face the music, but lets not get too big for our britches Mr. Dana.

"If any University of Maine students were found responsible for hosting the unsanctioned and dangerous party we would take action at the university,” the dean said."

If you want to reduce the spending for MaineCare, perhaps you should look at what our medical providers are forcing on their clients. For example, when people have certain prescription medications, known for having a fairly high potential for abuse (Schedule I & II Meds), in order to continue having these prescriptions written people MUST sign contractual agreements with their medical providers. This is an effort to reduce misuse of prescription meds. Do some people abuse their meds? Yes, indeed they do. Some people take too many or use them in ways which are not based on recovery. There are no differences in the statistics however between the percentage of people on MaineCare and those with private insurance, and the uninsured regarding the amount of the population who abuse the drugs. In other words, the same percentage of Mainecare recipients abuse the drugs as all others.

I do NOT have MaineCare coverage and I am on one of these meds. I've been on it for 6 years now. The difference this medication has made in my life is indescribable. In the entire time I have been on this med, I have NEVER requested an early refill, never asked for more due to my dog eating it, never switched between pharmacies, and have not changed doctors. Imagine my surprise when I was told in order to continue receiving my prescription for this drug I would have to provide a Urine sample for drug testing. I complied and filled the bottle. Then asked how much this test would cost. I was told the test would be $600.00! I do NOT have medical insurance. This is a true burden to people - and it should not matter if you have medical insurance, private or state funded - this is a ridiculous cost for anyone.

I completely understand why you may wish to do a random drug test IF someone has been asking for early refills, or "doctor or pharmacy shopping." So If you want to find the waste in Mainecare spending, I would suggest a fact finding audit on Mainecare to discover just how much money is spent each year on these wasteful drug tests. I would like to know how much of my tax dollar is spent testing people who have given no reason to be suspected of misuse. So Governor LePage I urge you to put this on your "List" of things to be looking into.

What I want to know is why the Governor has not latched on to a practice that is alive and well here in the State of Maine. Under the recommendation of the Maine Medical Association (and perhaps others as well), people in Maine who obtain prescriptions for most if not all Pain medications and other medications which are classified as Schedule II drugs are required to sign contractual agreements with their medical providers. These agreements include expensive drug testing requirements on a random basis. The drugs included in this are all Schedule I and Schedule II drugs. These drugs either have an extremely high propensity for abuse or a relatively high propensity. The drugs included are most if not all of the pain management medications, Morphine, Hydrocodone, Oxycontin and others. Also, most drugs which are prescribed to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The reasoning behind these contractual requirements is the goal of reducing and/or eliminating prescription drug abuse. You know, those people who may feel that they want the drug to get high or to sell on the street. Okay, that is a noble enough cause. But, I was recently informed that these random drug tests cost up to $600.00! That was the price I was quoted by my doctor. I called the lab at Central Maine Medical Center and was told the price would be a minimum of $300.00 but up to $600.00 depending on what drugs they want to screen for and what panels were ordered.

So, if every person who is prescribed these drugs are required to sign this contractual agreement, are drug tested every so often how much money does this add up to? In my particular case, I do not have health insurance at all – not MaineCare, not anything. I pay my own bills for medical. Logically speaking, it may be safe to assume that many individuals who are coping with the management of chronic pain may be unable to work and so therefore may not have insurance. OR on the other hand, if their income is low enough they may qualify for MaineCare. How many random drug tests has MaineCare had to pay for and how much money annually gets wasted on these tests which are not medically necessary?

There are other ways of ensuring compliance with medications. Some of these are listed in the contractual agreement, but the medical providers do not utilize them – or at the very least they under-utilize them. For example, one of the agreements is to submit to a pill count when called and asked to come in for one. I do not know how often this is used. In my particular case it was never used. In the six years I have been taking prescription medications for my ADHD, I have never called to have a prescription refilled early, I have never called saying my dog ate it or I lost it or it was stolen – but all of a sudden they wanted to do a random urine test to ensure I was not abusing or selling my medications. Again, they NEVER asked to do a pill count – the took the path which resulted in the least amount of work for the provider and the most expense for me, the client – and without any provocation. THAT is where at least SOME of MaineCare’s money is going.

You hit on some really good idea's here. Teach to the strengh of each individual and they will embrace learning. There is no reason that a student can't utilize a singular project, for example a history project where the student researches and writes about what he or she finds. This project could require elements of all subject areas currenlty being taught, e.g., geography, math, english, grammar, history, science, social sciences, civics. Yes it would be more difficult to "grade" all of these aspects of the project but rather than a single teacher reading and grading it, it could be passed to teachers who each have 1 or 2 subject areas as their specialty.

There is nothing more discouraging for a learner than to be forced into learning something they hate. If the areas they hate were incorporated into something they actually had interest in, they would "see" the reason that they need to learn the despised topic. Great post Peter.

So, where do these people send their rent checks to? Would it not make sense to follow the money? There has to be some way other than condem the home and put these people on the street.

To rbegin - this is a useless waste of time.
http://www.sunjournal.com/node/972923
Not to mention what ever the cost to taxpayers to push this through.
I would like to see our Governor cut this type of waste of process

I do NOT disagree with making sure that drivers are clearing their windshields and other windows. I would like to know why the Police do not enforce the "Lights on when wipers are in use" law however. They enforce the seatbelt law - which If I am not wearing my seat belt it does NOT place anyone other than me in increased danger. But they do not ticket people for not using their lights.

Furthermore, even though it is not a law, People should have enough common sense to put their lights on when foggy, raining, snowing etc. On my way to work the other day, during the Nor' Easter (I have a job that cannot shut down because of weather), I pass several oncoming cars in near whiteout conditions with not lights on. Some of these cars were white - in a major snowstorm - with no lights on. That places everyone at risk of accidents. I know you can't legislate common sense, but come on people (those who refuse to put their lights on), you should use that common sense without someone forcing you to.

How about spending some of the Tobacco settlement money to help those who have been smoking and addicted to nicotine for years get some EFFECTIVE help to stop. Increasing the cost of cigarettes will not help people quit. Yes, it will cause some people to quit, but not those who are truly addicted. Nicotine is MORE addictive than Heroin, we have programs to help the heroin addict, but for smokers all that is available is the Tobacco help line and a crap load of money spent in advertising to cause people to feel guilty about their addiction. For SOME people, neither of these efforts are effective. When you have a person who takes off their oxygen to light up, or someone who smokes through the hole in his throat - this is addiction, not habit, not lack of will-power, not someone who simple "chooses" to continue to smoke - this is a person with a true addiction. If your addicted to alcohol or other drugs, there are rehabilitation programs which assist 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help you stop - but for a smoker, there is a phone number you can call, when they tell you "we know it is hard, but just don't light up." I don't mean to demean that program - it is a step in the right direction and may be helpful to some. But use the money spent on advertising to construct a program that truly deals with smoking like the programs that deal with heroin and other drug abuse.