LEWISTON — Potential enrollees gathered for an informational presentation about the Affordable Care Act at the Lewiston Public Library on Tuesday evening. State Sen. Margaret Craven delivered opening statements to a group of about six, explaining her role on the ACA Oversight Committee. She told the group that she was excited for the self-employed to […]
health care
Posted inOp-Eds
Heidi Brooks: Health care is a human right
On Sept. 15, the Sun Journal published a piece co-authored by several Republican legislators regarding the debate about whether Maine should accept federal funds for health care. A cornerstone of the Affordable Care Act is that states accept funds to provide 69,500 of Maine’s lowest income people health care through MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program. […]
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Rich Livingston: Saving lives by any name has to be a good thing
There has been quite a lot of verbal ping pong, much of it played out on the pages of the Sun Journal, about whether Medicaid should be called “welfare,” or not. What possible difference does that make to the lives of people who would or would not have access to life-saving health care depending on […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
House GOP’s renewed call for health-care delay moves government closer to shutdown
WASHINGTON — Washington marched toward its first federal shutdown in 17 years on Saturday after House Speaker John Boehner bowed again to the right wing of his party and agreed to continue a relentless assault on President Barack Obama’s 2010 health-care law. Late Saturday, the House was poised to vote on a bill to keep […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Froma Harrop: Game soon over on Obamacare
Voices from right field are explaining why they’re justified in threatening the United States with default if Congress does not defund Obamacare. The Wall Street Journal’s Kimberley Strassel said on Sunday chat TV, “There isn’t one poll that shows that Americans approve, as a majority, of this health care law.” That’s an interesting concept: repeal […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine marketplace rates exceed national average
AUGUSTA (AP) — The costs of plans being offered on Maine’s health insurance marketplace are among the highest in the country on average before tax credits for lower-income individuals and out-of-pocket costs are factored in, according to a federal report released Wednesday. Maine residents will pay an average of $403 a month for a mid-range […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine health exchange committee to begin work
AUGUSTA — A special committee that will be overseeing Maine’s health care exchange under the federal health care overhaul is meeting for the first time this week. The Maine Health Exchange Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet on Monday at the State House. It includes lawmakers, insurance company representatives and consumer advocates. The group was […]
Posted inFranklin, Lewiston-Auburn, Local & State, Oxford Hills, River Valley
Maine health insurance companies say they have won final approval for upcoming marketplace
LEWISTON — Officials from Maine Community Health Options and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield say their companies have both won final approval from the federal government to post health insurance plans on the upcoming Affordable Care Act marketplace. MCHO, based in Lewiston, is the state’s first health insurance co-op, a nonprofit governed for and […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Pharmacy groups challenge Maine’s drug importation law
AUGUSTA — Several Maine pharmacy organizations have joined with a major pharmaceutical trade group to challenge the legality of a new Maine law that allows international firms to fill mail-order prescriptions. The Maine Pharmacy Association, Retail Association of Maine, Maine Society of Health System Pharmacists, and several individual Maine pharmacists, along with national industry group […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Anthem defends proposed insurance changes
AUGUSTA — Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield defended its proposal Monday to transfer about 9,000 Maine residents from their current coverage plans to plans that exclude several hospitals, a move that has been criticized as limiting people’s ability to choose their doctors. Anthem officials told Maine insurance regulators — who will now decide whether […]