Is expanding MaineCare a good idea? On the face of it, it sounds like a good idea but it is not — for several reasons. — Expanding MaineCare is bad because it adds thousands of Mainers to the existing health care system. That leads to longer waiting lists and higher prices. An example can be […]
health care
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Defying veto threat, House OKs health law change
WASHINGTON — Brushing aside a White House veto threat, the Republican-controlled House voted by a healthy bipartisan majority Friday to weaken a core component of “Obamacare” and permit the sale of individual health coverage that falls short of requirements in the law. In all, 39 Democrats broke ranks and supported the legislation, a total that […]
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Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Feds: About 270 Mainers selected health plans
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — About 270 Maine residents successfully signed up for health insurance plans on the troubled federal website in the first month of open enrollment, health officials said Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the highly anticipated enrollment figures for healthcare.gov, which has been plagued with problems and glitches […]
Posted inLetters
W. Werts: Health care for the veterans
I recently went to the Homeless Veterans Stand Down at the Veterans Administration hospital in Augusta. That annual fall event helps homeless veterans by connecting them with resources like MaineCare and employment services. The VA also provides health screenings and warm clothing for the winter. I was glad to see so many people come out […]
Posted inOur View
The disaster that is HealthCare.gov
President Barack Obama is having a President George W. Bush moment. Or is Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius having a FEMA Director Michael Brown moment? Actually, it’s both. Days after Hurricane Katrina hit the southern United States in 2005, and well after the world was aware of the scope of the storm’s destruction […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Ellsworth hospital plans layoffs, budget cuts
ELLSWORTH — Maine Coast Memorial Hospital told its employees this week that it will have to cut its annual budget by about $3 million, which will result in some layoffs. A look at the first quarter of this fiscal year showed an operating loss of $635,000, hospital CEO Charlie Therrien said. He attributed the loss […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Obama blames ‘bad apple’ insurers for canceled coverage
President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that “bad apple” insurance companies, not his signature healthcare law, are to blame for hundreds of thousands of people losing their coverage in the past few weeks. As administration officials scrambled to fix technical problems on an online insurance marketplace that is central to the success of the Affordable […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Federal official blames contractors for HealthCare.gov problems
WASHINGTON — The official most responsible for the rollout of the Obamacare health-insurance exchange Tuesday blamed outside contractors for the website woes, not her staff, in testimony before a House committee. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, led by Marilyn Tavenner, was responsible for building and running the exchange website that is supposed to […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Healthcare.gov site down again; HHS Secretary Sebelius faces grilling
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans said Sunday they intend to press Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on the Obama administration’s troubled launch of healthcare.gov, the online portal to buy insurance — even as the website suffered yet another setback. A component of the online system that has been working relatively well experienced an outage […]
Posted inLetters
J. Turner: Small businesses at risk
The impact of Obamacare on small businesses and employees will be dramatic. The cost will be the further denigration of the middle class, which will take the financial brunt of this far-reaching and expensive program. Maine has the oldest population in the union. Those with wealth are moving to Florida or New Hampshire, where there […]