As key provisions of the Affordable Care Act came into effect Jan. 1, small towns across the country are grappling with ways to implement the necessary changes in order to comply with the new health care regulations. Many are facing the same predicament that forced Oxford’s hand last week when selectmen voted to change the […]
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Federal health market surpasses 1 million signups
HONOLULU — A December surge propelled health care sign-ups through the government’s rehabilitated website past the 1 million mark, the Obama administration said Sunday, reflecting new vigor for the problem-plagued federal insurance exchange. Of the more than 1.1 million people now enrolled, nearly 1 million signed up in December, with the majority coming days before […]
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Reversing ACA cancellations fails to make everyone happy
RALEIGH, N.C. — A month after President Barack Obama announced people could keep insurance policies slated for cancellation under the federal health overhaul, the reversal has gotten a mixed response from insurers, state regulators and consumers. Many consumers complained in October and November after insurers notified them that their plans were being canceled because they […]
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Feds extend deadline an extra day to sign up for ACA
AUGUSTA — Groups helping Mainers figure out their health insurance options on the federal marketplace said Monday that they’re keeping busy ahead of the looming coverage deadlines. The deadline to sign up on the federal marketplace for coverage that kicks in Jan. 1 had been Monday, but federal officials announced that they extended that deadline […]
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Feds say about 1,750 Mainers enrolled in ACA plans
AUGUSTA — The federal government says more than five times as many Mainers signed up for health insurance on the online exchange in the second month of enrollment compared to the first. The figures released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services show that about 1,480 Mainers picked a plan last month. […]
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Advisory committee looks at ways to boost health insurance participation
AUGUSTA — Steering more people toward health insurance coverage in one way or another was at the core of recommendations finalized Monday by a committee tasked with overseeing the implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act in Maine. Among the Maine Health Exchange Advisory Committee’s unanimous recommendations were applying for federal funds to help individuals […]
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Maine health exchange panel to continue its work
AUGUSTA (AP) — A panel of Maine lawmakers and health care experts that’s overseeing the progress of the health care exchange under the Affordable Care Act is meeting in Augusta. The Maine Health Exchange Advisory Committee meeting on Monday is focusing on consumer outreach and enrollment efforts at MaineHealth, which owns some hospitals and medical […]
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Maine allows Anthem to extend cancelled health plans
AUGUSTA — Thousands of Mainers who thought their health coverage was being canceled under the federal health care overhaul will have the chance to stay on those plans another year, state insurance regulators said Tuesday. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield will give one-year renewals for health insurance plans that don’t meet the minimum standards of the […]
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Maine hospitals reluctant to play lead role in implementing Obamacare
AUGUSTA — A lobbyist for the Maine Hospital Association says that at least half of the state’s hospitals have specialists on hand to help uninsured visitors sign up for health insurance on the exchanges launched last month as part of the Affordable Care Act. Still, the hospitals are wary about taking a lead role in […]
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Maine health officials to study Medicaid expansion
AUGUSTA — The state has agreed to pay $1 million to an outside consultant to evaluate Maine’s Medicaid program and study whether it should be expanded under the federal health care overhaul, officials said Tuesday. Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services signed the contract with the Alexander Group, led by Gary Alexander, former welfare chief […]