LEWISTON — Some small business owners may save money for themselves and their employees by limiting the health care benefits they offer to their workers and their families, experts said Tuesday. The reason is that the federal Affordable Care Act and its health care marketplace may offer equal or better coverage for less money than […]
health care
Posted inOur View
Medicaid expansion will save us money
The most compelling argument for expanding Medicaid to cover about 70,000 more people is the simplest. The people are here. They will get sick. When they do, they will receive care they cannot afford. That’s not liberal or conservative; that’s just reality. And that fact leaves only one question: Who will foot that bill? Will […]
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Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
In wall of GOP Medicaid expansion opposition, a crack appears
AUGUSTA — The House’s top Democrat on Wednesday morning presented what he called a “compromise” bill to expand Medicaid in the state to roughly 70,000 of the poorest Mainers. It’s the first glimpse at what Democrats, who hold a majority in the Legislature, hope will be a bill that can gain enough Republican support to […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Head of Anthem in Maine talks about health care rollout, but mum on enrollments
BANGOR — The head of Maine health insurance giant Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maine said that in spite of the beleaguered launch of the the online marketplace under the Affordable Care Act, the exchange will continue to stabilize, as will prices. Daniel Corcoran, president and general manager of Anthem, delivered the keynote address […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine health insurance signups skyrocket
The number of Mainers signing up for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act skyrocketed last month, and most are middle-aged or older, according to new federal figures released Monday that for the first time include demographic data key to the law’s insurance overhaul. Since the launch of healthcare.gov on Oct. 1, 2013, through Dec. […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Feds say 13,704 Mainers have picked ACA plans
AUGUSTA — More than 13,700 Maine residents picked plans on the health care exchange in the first three months of open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act, but most Mainers getting coverage are older, according to figures released by the federal government on Monday. Nearly 12,000 people signed up for coverage last month in Maine, one […]
Posted inLocal & State, Nation / World, sj-web
Health law leaves volunteer firefighting in limbo
FREEPORT (AP) — Fire chiefs and lawmakers are working to protect the system of volunteer firefighting that has served rural America for more than a century but is threatened by an ambiguity in President Barack Obama’s health care law. Small and rural fire departments from California to Maine, which has one of the country’s highest […]
Posted insj-web
Marketing efforts to uninsured youth ramp up
MIAMI (AP) — The so-called “young invincibles” are so important to the success of the Affordable Care Act that supporters and detractors are spending millions to reach them with racy ads, social media campaigns and celebrity endorsements. The president is even (gasp) asking their mothers to help convince them to sign up for insurance. The […]
Posted inOxford Hills, sj-web
Towns gear up for health-insurance requirements
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 […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
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 […]