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 […]
health care
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 […]
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Posted inMaine, 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 inMaine, 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, Maine, 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 inMaine, 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 […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Lewiston Library hosts Affordable Care Act discussion
LEWISTON — The Lewiston Public Library and the Maine chapter of the AARP will host a discussion Sept. 4 on the finer points of the Affordable Care Act. The program, “The Affordable Care Act and You,” will be presented by AARP representative Ellen Harris-Howard at 6 p.m. in the library’s Callahan Hall. Harris-Howard will discuss the […]
Posted inFranklin, Lewiston-Auburn, Oxford Hills, River Valley
State to hold public comment session on Anthem narrow network plan
The Maine Bureau of Insurance will hold a public comment session Thursday on Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s proposal to move a number of its current individual policyholders into a narrow network plan that strictly limits which hospitals and doctors they can use. In central Maine, Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, Bridgton Hospital, […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
80 House members: Government shutdown better than ‘Obamacare’
A letter from 80 Republicans asked Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to resist any spending bills that would accommodate the new health care law, which is nearing a critical stage of signing up millions of Americans for health coverage. Because it’s virtually certain that President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Senate would reject such demands, leaders […]