Dr. Renee Fay-LeBlanc says she has a patient with diabetes who can’t afford insulin or blood-sugar monitoring devices to help manage the disease. Another of her patients can’t afford inhalers to manage her chronic lung disease and has been hospitalized during the recent hot weather. Still another patient with a heart condition can’t afford the […]
health care
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine doctor says she is likely to challenge Susan Collins for Senate in 2020
A Down East physician who is “tired of seeing what’s going on” in Washington is likely to declare within weeks that she will challenge U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ re-election in 2020. “I can’t sit idly by and just watch this,” Cathleen London, who practices in Milbridge, said Friday. “I can’t keep watching this train wreck.” […]
advertisement
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Lower costs, fewer benefits in new health insurance option
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration Tuesday rolled out a health insurance option for small businesses and self-employed people that could lead to lower premiums but may also cover fewer benefits than current plans. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta said the new “association health plans” will allow small business to pool their purchasing power, gaining access […]
Posted inLocal & State
Maine’s highest court rules against forced reimbursement for medical marijuana
Maine’s highest court ruled Thursday that federal laws prevent an employer’s workers compensation fund from being forced to pay for medical marijuana treatments. The court, in a 5-2 vote, said its ruling should be considered narrowly, based on a case in which a paper company employee wanted his employer’s worker’s compensation fund to pay for […]
Posted inUncategorized
Judge plans quick ruling on whether Maine must submit Medicaid expansion plan
Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy said Thursday she will issue a ruling as soon as possible in a lawsuit against the state over implementation of Medicaid expansion, which Maine voters approved last year. At issue is whether the state Department of Health and Human Services must file paperwork with the federal government as outlined in […]
Posted inLocal & State
Advocates sue to force LePage administration to expand Medicaid
The advocacy group that led the successful ballot-box campaign to expand Medicaid in Maine filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to compel the state to implement the program. Maine Equal Justice Partners filed the suit in state Superior Court in Augusta, arguing that the failure to expand Medicaid is harming low-income Mainers who by law should be eligible […]
Posted inLocal & State
Susan Collins says Trump lawyer not a big factor in Russia probe
? U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Sunday she does not see President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, as a central player in the Russia probe. Maine’s senior senator also criticized former FBI Director James Comey for not following Justice Department protocols and releasing his memoir in the middle of the ongoing investigation. Collins, a Republican […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
'Affordable' care in question under Trump administration
Escalating premiums and deductibles have driven about 10,000 Mainers over a health care “cliff,” where they can barely afford coverage thanks to a vulnerability in the Affordable Care Act exploited by the actions of the Trump administration. Depending on the plan chosen, premiums have increased by about 70 percent or more since 2014 for people […]
Posted inNation / World
Donald Trump tells Susan Collins he supports health subsidies in budget bill
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump assured two Senate Republicans in a weekend conference call that he wants tens of billions of dollars to lower health-care premiums included in a must-pass spending bill. Trump made the commitment related to payments to insurers under the Affordable Care Act in an hour-long Saturday call with Sens. Lamar Alexander, […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Local & State
Officer from Casco helps shepherd first-aid bill for police dogs
CASCO — Michelle Cole’s partner in the Police Department may be retiring in the next few weeks, but she’ll still be able to give him commands. Cole, a Casco resident originally from Buxton, has worked and lived with her 8-year-old German shepherd partner, Kaine, since he joined the department as a pup. She is working […]