LEWISTON — For the second consecutive year, Medicare will penalize Central Maine Medical Center for its high rates of infection and patient injuries. The news comes just weeks after CMMC’s accrediting agency said the hospital was not doing enough in its policies and procedures to prevent infections. The agency gave the hospital 30 days to […]
Medicare
Posted inLetters
Everyone needs health care
In his letter (June 6), Richard Grover asks about the differences between Obamacare (ACA) and Trumpcare (AHCA). According to CNN Money (March 27) “How Obamacare Affects Everyone” — “under Obamacare, senior citizens pay less for Medicare coverage and for their prescription drugs. Many people receive free contraceptives, mammograms, colonoscopies and cholesterol tests. And those with […]
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Posted inOp-Eds
There are good reasons for cuts to Medicare
By Charles Lane The Washington Post President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal 2018 is being condemned, right and left, for the cuts it imposes on various federal programs. Too little attention is being paid to the necessary economizing the Trump budget avoids — specifically, with regard to Medicare. Medicare covers physician services, hospitalization and […]
Posted inLetters
Medicare for all
The House Republicans’ recent passage of a health care bill (“Trumpcare”) without waiting for the Congressional Budget Office to evaluate it was an egregious flaunting of the grave responsibilities Congressmen have to their constituents and to their country. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, was one of them. He should be ashamed. The GOP bill would take $880 […]
Posted inLetters
Insurance Americans deserve
Americans have an unprecedented opportunity to reform health care access and catch up with the rest of the developed world. While both major political parties squabble about whether the Affordable Care Act went too far or not far enough in harassing and soaking consumers, the public can suggest a common-sense, money-saving approach to health insurance […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Maintain the safety net
A number of years ago, I was diagnosed with multifocal motor neuropathy — a disorder that has slowly taken the use of my hands and arms. As my disability worsened, I decided that, at 65 years of age, retirement would be my best option. In doing calculations, my financial survival depended upon the continuation of […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Fraud watch: Beware bogus 'Medicare' calls
As Congress and the new Trump administration talk about repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), fraudsters are taking advantage of the confusion. The AARP Fraud Watch Network reports that fraudsters are posing as insurance company representatives, or someone from Medicare or another federal agency, calling consumers asking for personal information, sometimes money. “What […]
Posted inConnections, sj-web
SeniorsPlus to offer Medicare basics class in Bethel
BETHEL — SeniorsPlus will offer “Medicare Basics” from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 7, Bethel Adult Education at Telstar High School, 284 Walkers Mill Road, For those who are approaching Medicare eligibility, the class will explain timelines and deadlines to apply, including for those who are still working and not yet eligible for social […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Proposed changes to Medicare just unacceptable
Maine has a special connection to the New Deal of 1933, whose originator, Frances Perkins, spent much of her life as a part-time resident of Newcastle. The Roosevelt initiatives that Ms. Perkins, the first woman to serve as a member of a presidential cabinet, helped craft were the beginning of the most important social compact […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Medicare needs permission to negotiate with drug companies, Sen. Angus King says
Calling it “a travesty on the taxpayers,” U.S. Sen. Angus King is pressing to secure congressional approval to let Medicare negotiate lower prescription drug prices. The proposal would allow the government health care program for seniors to seek volume discounts from pharmaceutical companies that provide drugs for Medicare Part D’s 41 million participants. Since the passage […]