About 7,000 Maine customers of Mega Life and Health Insurance Co. will be affected by a rate change set to take effect Friday. While some policyholders will see their health premium costs drop by nearly 33 percent, others will be hit with rate hikes of up to 47 percent, according to Mega’s filing with the […]
health care
Posted inNew England, sj-web
Bill would lift gag on discussing N.H. health care
CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire’s new Democratic House majority is considering reversing a law banning the state from operating its own health care exchange under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul law. The House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee held a hearing Tuesday on a bill that would reverse a Republican-passed law that prohibits the […]
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Posted inLetters
L. Carrier: Hyde Amendment unfair to women
With the recent 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, let’s look at what that court ruling offers or does not offer women today. Women now have the right to receive an abortion legally and in a safe environment. Those in society who think women have easy access to clinics that offer family planning services are […]
Posted inLetters
J. Sytsma: Improving quality of health care
Why are Americans spending twice as much for health care as any other industrialized country, and getting less? The U.S. ranks 17th, using commonly-used indicators of quality, and yet millions are left without health insurance. The government is already paying for the majority of health care, both public and private, supporting insurance corporations whose profits […]
Posted inOur View
Among nations, Americans are not very healthy
The news last week for Americans under 50 was not good. On average, they are in poorer health and more likely to die before 50 than young people in other developed Western European countries, Canada, Japan and Australia. That’s the bleak assessment of the Institute of Medicine, the health arm of the National Academy of […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Feds allow limited cuts to Medicaid, not to level sought by LePage
AUGUSTA, Maine — The federal government will allow Maine to make limited cuts to its Medicaid program, but not to the extent Gov. Paul LePage ’s administration had sought last yearas it looked to close a $20 million budget hole. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Monday notified state officials that they can cut some low-income […]
Posted inLocal & State, Nation / World, sj-web
11 GOP governors, including LePage, fight Medicaid expansion
WASHINGTON — Republican governors, including Maine Gov. Paul LePage, are ratcheting up pressure on President Barack Obama to scale back a key provision of his health-care law. In a letter to Obama last week, 11 governors asked for a meeting “as soon as possible” to negotiate for greater control over their Medicaid programs. Among other […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Cost-wary states must decide whether to take the deal for expanded Medicare
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s health care brinksmanship, with hundreds of billions of dollars and the well-being of millions of people at stake. President Barack Obama’s health care law expands Medicaid, the federal-state health program for low-income people, but cost-wary states must decide whether to take the deal. Turn it down, and governors risk coming off […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Froma Harrop: Lobby group should back off about Medicare
AARP’s shot over the bow on the fiscal cliff talks is most unpleasant. Perhaps you’ve seen the ad on TV. As seniors go about their day, a stern female voice says of Medicare and Social Security, “We earned them.” She goes on, “If Washington tries to cram decisions about the future of these programs into […]
Posted inOur View
A stroll down health care’s memory lane
“The time is at hand this year to bring comprehensive, high quality health care within the reach of every American. I shall propose a sweeping new program that will assure comprehensive health insurance protection to millions of Americans who cannot now obtain it or afford it, with vastly improved protection against catastrophic illnesses.” Barack Obama […]