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 […]
politics
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 […]
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Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Bruce Poliquin selling his Oakland home
OAKLAND (AP) — A Maine congressman has put up his home for sale, leading some to speculate a run for governor in the future. The Morning Sentinel reports U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin is selling his home in Oakland. His home is listed by Brookewood Realty, but a real estate agent has declined to share the […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Donald Trump warns N. Korea that U.S. military is 'locked and loaded.'
Military solutions are now fully in place,locked and loaded,should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 11, 2017 President Donald Trump on Friday offered a fresh threat of force against North Korea, writing on Twitter that “military solutions are now fully in place, locked […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Diane Russell announces she will run for governor in 2018
The Democratic primary race to replace Gov. Paul LePage in 2018 attracted a seventh contender Thursday when former four-term state Rep. Diane Russell of Portland announced her candidacy. Russell, 41, announced her candidacy by highlighting her ascent from a convenience store clerk earning $8 per hour when she first ran for the House of Representatives […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage says Eric Brakey is a long shot to beat Angus King
Gov. Paul LePage is sounding more and more like he plans next year to challenge independent.Angus King’s bid for a second term in the U.S. Senate. During a radio interview Thursday, the governor indicated that the only declared major party challenger — state Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn — likely can’t win. “I don’t see it […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage says Matt Dunlap wrong to not supply voter data
PORTLAND (AP) — Maine’s Republican governor says the state’s secretary of state is making a mistake by denying a request for voter data made by a Trump commission. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, a Democrat, has declined to comply with a request by the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which is investigating possible voter […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Federal audit: DHHS failed to investigate deaths, suspected abuse of disabled adults
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services failed to investigate the deaths of all 133 people with developmental disabilities who died between January 2013 and June 2015 while under the care of community-based providers across the state, and, as a result, failed to report suspicious deaths to law enforcement agencies to determine if crimes […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Trump's threat to North Korea contrasts with calm reassurances of other administration officials
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — As President Donald Trump amplified his bellicose warning to North Korea on Wednesday, senior administration officials rushed to reassure a suddenly jittery world that they stood behind his sentiments, if not necessarily his language. What many outside the White House – and some on the inside – interpreted as an undisciplined presidential […]
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 […]