AUGUSTA — Steering more people toward health insurance coverage in one way or another was at the core of recommendations finalized Monday by a committee tasked with overseeing the implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act in Maine. Among the Maine Health Exchange Advisory Committee’s unanimous recommendations were applying for federal funds to help individuals […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine health exchange panel to continue its work
AUGUSTA (AP) — A panel of Maine lawmakers and health care experts that’s overseeing the progress of the health care exchange under the Affordable Care Act is meeting in Augusta. The Maine Health Exchange Advisory Committee meeting on Monday is focusing on consumer outreach and enrollment efforts at MaineHealth, which owns some hospitals and medical […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine allows Anthem to extend cancelled health plans
AUGUSTA — Thousands of Mainers who thought their health coverage was being canceled under the federal health care overhaul will have the chance to stay on those plans another year, state insurance regulators said Tuesday. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield will give one-year renewals for health insurance plans that don’t meet the minimum standards of the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine hospitals reluctant to play lead role in implementing Obamacare
AUGUSTA — A lobbyist for the Maine Hospital Association says that at least half of the state’s hospitals have specialists on hand to help uninsured visitors sign up for health insurance on the exchanges launched last month as part of the Affordable Care Act. Still, the hospitals are wary about taking a lead role in […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine health officials to study Medicaid expansion
AUGUSTA — The state has agreed to pay $1 million to an outside consultant to evaluate Maine’s Medicaid program and study whether it should be expanded under the federal health care overhaul, officials said Tuesday. Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services signed the contract with the Alexander Group, led by Gary Alexander, former welfare chief […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Obama administration optimistic that ACA will cover more Mainers
AUGUSTA — The number of Maine residents enrolled in the new health care marketplace is expected to grow substantially over the next couple of months, the top U.S. Department of Health and Human Services official for New England told Maine lawmakers and industry experts Monday. Christine Hager said that the first part of the open enrollment, […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Feds: About 270 Mainers selected health plans
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — About 270 Maine residents successfully signed up for health insurance plans on the troubled federal website in the first month of open enrollment, health officials said Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the highly anticipated enrollment figures for healthcare.gov, which has been plagued with problems and glitches […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
77,000 Maine health insurance buyers to qualify for tax credit
About 77,000 Maine residents who are uninsured or buy their own health insurance will qualify for tax credits next year to help them afford coverage under Obamacare, according to a new analysis released Tuesday. Those Mainers represent just over 60 percent of the 122,000 residents who could potentially shop for health insurance through new online […]
Posted inOur View
The disaster that is HealthCare.gov
President Barack Obama is having a President George W. Bush moment. Or is Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius having a FEMA Director Michael Brown moment? Actually, it’s both. Days after Hurricane Katrina hit the southern United States in 2005, and well after the world was aware of the scope of the storm’s destruction […]
Posted inFranklin, The Franklin Journal
Medicare benefits could be affected by changing counties
LIVERMORE FALLS — If Livermore Falls voters OK a move from Androscoggin County to Franklin County in the Nov. 5 referendum, the Medicare benefits for some residents could be affected. “I want to make sure the property taxes address my cost in health insurance,” said resident Ron Chadwick. He has heard from other people who […]