In this July 13, 2017, file photo, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., left, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., right, talk while walking to a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington. Senate Republicans are planning a final, uphill push to erase President Barack Obama’s health care law. But Democrats and their allies are going all-out to stop […]
ACA
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Susan Collins has concerns with GOP's latest ACA repeal effort
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, walks towards the Senate floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017. AUGUSTA — Republicans’ latest plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act looked to be in danger Monday, when a spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said the Maine Republican has “concerns” about the proposal. Collins hasn’t taken […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Gov. Paul LePage pleads for repeal of Obamacare
Gov. Paul LePage speaks about health care policy outside the White House on Wednesday, June 28, 2017. AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage is pushing hard to convince Congress this week to repeal the Affordable Care Act. “We have one last shot, this week, to get the votes in the United States Senate to save the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
New poll finds wide support for Susan Collins, touble for Bruce Poliquin
A new poll from a Democratic polling firm shows Mainers overwhelmingly agree that U.S. Sen. Susan Collins did the right thing when she cast a decisive vote against a Republican health care proposal last month. The Public Policy Polling survey this week for a group called Our Lives on the Line found that 65 percent […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Delayed health-insurance tax to hit insurers in 2018
Health insurers won a victory in 2015 when a tax that was part of the Affordable Care Act was suspended. Now as they fight to repeal or delay the tax again before it comes back into effect, the odds don’t seem to be in their favor. Insurers, businesses and conservative groups are scrambling for ways […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Double-digit increases likely for Affordable Care Act plans
LEWISTON — The head of the Maine Bureau of Insurance has denied the 2018 rate increase requests made by the three health insurers who sell individual plans in Maine under the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace. However, he said he would approve slightly lower rate increases that average between 17.5 percent and 27.1 percent. Superintendent Eric […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Kaiser study says 2018 health premium hikes the result of Trump's actions
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration’s own actions are triggering double-digit premium increases on individual health insurance policies purchased by many consumers, a nonpartisan study has found. The analysis released Thursday by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that mixed signals from President Donald Trump have created uncertainty “far outside the norm,” leading insurers to seek […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, sj-web
Judge dismisses Community Health Option’s $23 million lawsuit against feds
UPDATED 1:30 p.m.: LEWISTON — A federal court has ruled against Lewiston-based Community Health Options in its $23 million lawsuit against the federal government. But the head of Community Health Options called the decision “a temporary setback.” “We remain very confident in the merits of our case,” said CEO Kevin Lewis. Community Health Options, a nonprofit and the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage calls health care votes by Susan Collins and Angus King 'disgusting
Gov. Paul LePage blasted Maine’s two U.S. senators Tuesday for their recent votes against a health care overhaul package backed by Senate Republicans. LePage, who previously said he also opposed the Senate Republican bill that was defeated last week, said during a Tuesday radio interview on WVOM that independent Sen. Angus King and Republican Sen. Susan Collins […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine's Susan Collins helps block last GOP health care plan in Senate
Through one of Capitol Hill’s strangest weeks, two Republican senators hailing from the northernmost states on the east and west coasts consistently voted against every variation of health care reform offered by a GOP majority desperate to repeal, and perhaps replace, the Affordable Care Act. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of […]