MaineCare enrollment has increased from 250,000 to 361,000 lives over the past 10 years of Democratic leadership in Augusta. The argument continues as to whether this increase of more than 110,000 at a time when Maine’s overall population has been stagnant is due to an influx of those seeking lucrative social service benefits. But look […]
MaineCare
Posted inLetters
L. Lockman: Which vision will prevail?
Look no further than the recent debate over Medicaid reform for evidence that two fundamentally different philosophies of government are competing for the allegiance of Maine voters. In a recent op-ed column, Rep. Mark Eves, D-North Berwick, made the case for the Democrats’ progressive, redistributionist philosophy that has prevailed for the past four decades in […]
advertisement
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Glitch gives MaineCare checks to ineligible recipients
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — State officials say they’re trying to determine the overall cost of a computer malfunction that resulted in up to 19,000 people receiving MaineCare services even though they were ineligible. State Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew revealed the problem Tuesday to legislative leaders and members of the Appropriations Committee. The […]
Posted inLetters
D. Gemmecke: Governor forgets the people
I am a 60-year-old man, born and raised in America. I served my country in Vietnam. I worked most of my life at a job that physically wore my body out. I changed jobs when it became too much, only to be replaced by someone younger. The past few months have been spent searching for […]
Posted inLetters
J. Timberlake: Cuts are unavoidable
On Feb. 23, the Legislature passed a bill to address the 2012 budget shortfall at the Department of Health and Human Services. The budget bill was the result of months of negotiation between members of both parties and both political branches, and it reflects our shared goals of fiscal responsibility and maintaining help for Maine’s […]
Posted inOur View
MaineCare: There’s plenty of outrage to go around
When Gov. Paul LePage first proposed cutting $221 million from the state’s Medicaid rolls, he said we had been generous to a fault. We had, over the years, added benefits that we could no longer afford. As the legislative debate heated up, along with the governor’s temper, the chief executive took a different tack. “Maine […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Health providers gird for DHHS cuts under compromise deal
Lawmakers may have reached a bipartisan deal to close a budget gap at the Department of Health and Human Services, but health care providers are still bracing for deep cuts. Members of the Legislature’s budget committee pushed back against Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to drop coverage and tighten eligibility for some MaineCare beneficiaries, but left […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Gov. LePage attacks bipartisan budget proposal
AUGUSTA — A bipartisan budget package aimed at erasing a looming $221 million shortfall is “full of gimmicks” and lacks structural changes needed over the long haul to make state Medicaid services affordable to taxpayers, Gov. Paul LePage charged Monday. LePage lobbed heavy criticism at the Appropriations Committee, which has been working for weeks on […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Top 5 percent of MaineCare recipients account for more than half the program’s cost
Lillian Davis spends many of her nights at an Orono nursing home wide awake. Deceived by advanced dementia, the 83-year-old loses sleep for days on end tidying imagary messes in her room or talking to visitors who aren’t there. Sometimes, the nurses push her wheelchair under a table and lock the brakes so she can’t […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Oxford Hills
Experts: MaineCare cuts will hurt Oxford County residents
NORWAY — Local service providers have warned that Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed MaineCare cuts could hurt many residents of Oxford County. “There’s a whole array of things that the governor has proposed that will affect the people of Oxford County,” Joan Churchill, director of development for Community Concepts, said. The cuts have been suggested as […]