After seven years of a vigorous fight, Jim Hart worried he was running out of options. Diagnosed with prostate cancer at age 60, Hart had undergone virtually every treatment — surgery, radiation and hormones — to eradicate it. But a blood test showed that his level of prostate-specific antigen, which should have been undetectable, kept […]
hospitals
Posted inBusiness, Maine
Maine hospitals post prices online
LEWISTON — Thanks to new federal rules, Mainers can now find the price of a hospital visit with a click. However, experts warn the new costs posted online amount to sticker prices. Patients’ circumstances vary — including whether they have insurance coverage — so actual cost may be different from the list price. The Centers […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn, sj-web
St. Mary's hires president from Minnesota
LEWISTON — Almost a year after its last leader announced his intention to leave, St. Mary’s Health System has a new face at the helm. Covenant Health announced Monday that after a national search, it has appointed Steven C. Jorgensen as president of the health system, which includes St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center. “I want […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage proposes increasing taxes on hospitals to cover Medicaid expansion
AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine’s Republican governor is publicly laying out a proposed tax hike on hospitals to pay for voter-approved Medicaid expansion. Gov. Paul LePage’s office says Medicaid expansion will offset a tax hike by decreasing charity care and bad debt. Maine’s hospital tax rate is 2.23 percent, and Rabinowitz said Maine could go up […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage: Maine hospitals not struggling; Augusta area investment ‘a massive disaster’
WATERVILLE — Gov. Paul LePage on Thursday disputed a claim from a member of the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce that hospitals in Maine are struggling, saying they have $800 million worth of projects planned in Bangor, Portland and other areas. “The investment in Augusta has proved to be a massive disaster — they’re the highest […]
Posted inNation / World
Opioid hospitalization increasing, Maine among top 10 states
Users of opioid painkillers often grapple with risking addiction or living with pain The coast-to-coast opioid epidemic is swamping hospitals, with government data published Tuesday showing 1.27 million emergency room visits or inpatient stays for opioid-related issues in a single year. The 2014 numbers, the latest available for every state and the District of Columbia, […]
Posted inLetters
V. Bacon: Save the hospitals
This is in response to the article (March 5) regarding the response Gov. Paul LePage made in defense of his proposed budget that would cut funds to the small hospitals. In the Oxford Hills area, Stephens Memorial Hospital and the Rumford Hospital are the ones residents depend upon for care. I was on Tri-Town Rescue […]
Posted inMaine
Maine hospitals say proposed LePage budget will cost them $55 million a year
AUGUSTA — Hospital executives and their representatives lined up Wednesday to say a proposed two-year budget offered by Republican Gov. Paul LePage would damage the state’s health care system and put hospitals deeper in debt if passed by the Legislature. Members of the Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee and the Health and Human Services Committee are […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Chat archive: Should Maine tax its nonprofits?
Live Blog Taxing Nonprofits in Maine AUGUSTA – A tax reform plan by Gov. Paul LePage as part of his 2016-2017 two-year budget proposal is drawing plenty of attention. Among other things the plan would allow cities and towns to apply a property tax to nonprofit organizations that hold more than $500,000 in property. […]
Posted inLetters
L. Sanborn, in rebuttal: Turned their backs on health care
The Sun Journal story “More money, less money: The effects of not expanding MaineCare,” (July 20) rightly detailed the negative impact of the state’s decision to turn down federal Medicaid dollars for life-saving health care. It is unfortunate that Gov. Paul LePage and his allies in the state Legislature turned their backs on health care […]