AUGUSTA — Nearly 62,000 Mainers have selected insurance plans on the health care exchange. Federal officials said this week that 61,964 residents have enrolled as of Jan. 16. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that 35 percent of those people enrolled for coverage on the exchange for the first time. Sixty-five percent […]
health care
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Federal health care exchange enrolls 59,126 Mainers
AUGUSTA — Nearly 60,000 Mainers have enrolled in plans on the health care exchange. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday that 59,126 Maine residents had signed up for coverage as of Friday. The open enrollment session began Nov. 15 and extends through Feb. 15. Thursday is the deadline for people to […]
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Jobs forecast shows fall in manufacturing, growth in health care work in Maine
PORTLAND — In the Maine of 10 years from now, jobs making things, moving things and selling things are expected to decline as jobs in health care, education and hospitality industries increase. That doesn’t necessarily mean work making things will dry up, as the bulk of job openings will be to replace people retiring, but […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
St. Mary’s faces penalties for complication, infection rates
Learn About Tableau The federal government is cracking down on half a dozen Maine hospitals for high rates of complications and infections. The six Maine facilities are among 721 hospitals nationally with high rates of infections and other patient injuries that will see their payments cut under the federal Medicare program, according to an analysis […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Committee signs plea to AG over Androscoggin County pay authority
AUBURN — A dozen members of the Androscoggin County Budget Committee have signed a plea to Maine’s Attorney General seeking help to end the growing controversy over the authority to set pay for elected county commissioners. Meanwhile, the debate is growing among the county’s 14 towns. By next Wednesday, selectmen and councilors in at least […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine nursing homes reducing use of antipsychotic drugs
Maine nursing homes lead the nation in reducing the unapproved use of potentially deadly antipsychotic medications, a state advocacy program announced Tuesday. As part of a federal campaign to limit prescribing of the drugs, Maine nursing homes slashed their reliance on antipsychotic medications by more than 33 percent from the end of 2011 to mid-2014, […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Penobscot Valley Hospital to end baby deliveries in 2015
LINCOLN — A hospital in rural Maine is ending nonemergency deliveries of newborn babies next year following a decline in babies in the area. Maine Public Broadcasting Network reports Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln is ending deliveries on May 1, 2015. The hospital recently saw the departure of four physicians, which also played a role […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine health exchange assisters report smooth process
AUGUSTA — With fewer glitches plaguing the federally run health exchange website, people helping to enroll Maine residents in insurance plans say the process is going more smoothly this time around, and they’re hopeful they will make strides in the next three months in covering the tens of thousands of people in the state who remain […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Lewiston-Auburn, The Franklin Journal
Health system official sorry conflict of interest not disclosed, but no change
Updated 10:54 a.m. LEWISTON — Central Maine Healthcare’s CEO has apologized to employees for the way it handled conflict-of-interest issues surrounding Edumedics, a private health-monitoring company that workers must use if they want to avoid higher insurance premiums. That company was started by a top Central Maine Healthcare official who runs it with his wife. […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
ACA: Maine groups reaching out to uninsured
AUGUSTA — When enrollment in health care exchange reopens Saturday, the Maine groups that will encourage the uninsured to sign up say they have a powerful resource: the voices of the tens of thousands of residents who have already enrolled. The first open sign-up period for the Affordable Care Act brought out those who were […]