More than 40,000 Mainers who begin signing up Wednesday for Affordable Care Act insurance may do a double take when selecting a plan on the individual marketplace. Many of those plans will offer free monthly premiums. Health experts say that’s an unintended consequence of the Trump administration’s decision this year to end payments to insurance […]
health care
Posted inBusiness, Uncategorized
Maine enhances website that compares medical costs by provider
A state-run database that compares average prices and patient satisfaction levels for dozens of procedures and tests performed at Maine health care facilities has been updated to give consumers more information. The information that’s now available at CompareMaine.org helps Mainers become better consumers of health care in a state where the total cost of a common procedure […]
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Posted inBusiness
Why CVS Health would want to buy Aetna
[media-credit name=”AP file photos” align=”aligncenter” width=”1200″][/media-credit] CVS Health is reportedly in talks to buy the nation’s third largest health insurer, Aetna, in a deal that would allow the pharmacy giant to expand into an entirely new arena of health care. A successful deal could push millions of Aetna’s members toward CVS’s retail pharmacies, walk-in Minute […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Bruce Poliquin focuses on helping veterans get services
U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin said Thursday he intends to push a measure aimed at making it possible for more nursing homes to treat veterans without facing as much bureaucratic rigmarole. The 2nd District Republican told a small news conference in Lewiston that providers have to deal with “onerous red tape” to get reimbursed for offering […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Donald Trump reverses course on emerging bipartisan health care deal
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., left, accompanied by Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., right, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, after he and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., say they have the “basic outlines” of a bipartisan deal to resume payments to health insurers that President Donald Trump has blocked. (AP Photo/Andrew […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Move to stop ACA subsidies will push premiums higher in Maine
Thousands of Mainers will see their individual health insurance premiums rise even higher in 2018 as a result of President Trump’s decision to eliminate federal reimbursement of a key Affordable Care Act subsidy. However, Maine’s two remaining ACA insurance providers, Community Health Options and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, said the White House’s move to eliminate […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Donald Trump’s executive order could alter Maine insurance market
President Trump’s latest executive order could make health insurance more costly for older, sicker Mainers by enticing younger, healthier individuals to purchase cheaper and less-regulated plans. Still, it could be some time before the rule-making needed to enforce the proposed changes goes into effect. “As of the signing of the executive order, absolutely nothing changes,” […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Donald Trump signs order to end subsidies for health care
President Donald Trump shows an executive order on health care that he signed in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON (AP) — In a brash move likely to roil insurance markets, President Donald Trump will “immediately” halt payments to insurers under the Obama-era health […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Less health services
I feel that the health services have taken a turn for the worse. Some people believe in making judgment calls based on personal opinion instead of facts. I believe that I am one of many who feel this way. This is in no way meant to attack or criticize anybody. I feel that it should […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Expand Medicaid
In mid-2008, my mid-40s friend was laid off from his job as a union sheet metal worker, but his insurance continued until early 2009. In late 2008, he was diagnosed with Type-II diabetes. When his coverage ended, he applied for MaineCare, only to be denied since his unemployment check put him above the allowable threshold. […]