Stories about health insurance
With high deductible health plans, it pays to shop around for care
By Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News on May 20, 2013, at 9:22 a.m.
When Maria and Vadim Brodsky’s then 7-year-old daughter needed an MRI two years ago to examine a tumor in her head, they took her to a hospital in their health plan’s network and were dismayed to receive a $4,500 bill. The couple had a $6,000 deductible on their family plan. ...
Obamacare is on the horizon, but will enough people sign up?
By David Morgan, Reuters on May 06, 2013, at 8:33 a.m.
WASHINGTON — Healthcare reform should be the signature Democratic achievement of President Barack Obama’s presidency. But with “Obamacare” five months from show time, Democrats are worried about whether enough Americans will sign up to make the sweeping healthcare overhaul a success — and what failure might mean for Congress heading ...
Worries mount about enrolling consumers in federally-run insurance exchanges
By Jenny Gold, Kaiser Health News on April 08, 2013, at 9:22 a.m.
When President Lyndon B. Johnson wanted to enroll seniors for the new Medicare program he had just signed into law, the story goes that his administration sent out workers on dog sleds to reach people in the remote Alaskan tundra. “The Forest Service even had rangers looking for hermits in ...
White House announces health benefits insurers must offer
By David Morgan, Reuters on Feb. 20, 2013, at 4:05 p.m.
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Wednesday issued its long-awaited final rule on essential health benefits that insurers must offer consumers in the individual and small-group market beginning in 2014 under the healthcare reform law. A cornerstone of President Barack Obama’s plan to enhance the breadth of healthcare coverage in ...
White House approves seven more states’ health exchanges
By Sarah Kliff, The Washington Post on Jan. 04, 2013, at 9:19 a.m.
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Thursday approved plans by seven states to create health insurance exchanges, the new marketplaces at the heart of the Affordable Care Act. With this final round of approvals, the White House has signed off on blueprints by 17 states and the District of Columbia ...
Obama administration unveils long-awaited health law rules
By Julie Appleby, Jay Hancock and Mary Agnes Carey, KHN Staff Writers on Nov. 21, 2012, at 8:46 a.m.
Long-awaited details on how insurers can structure health benefits and premiums for policies that will cover tens of millions of Americans starting in 2014 were released by the Obama administration Tuesday. The three proposed rules reaffirm key elements of the 2010 federal health law, including its requirement that insurers accept ...
In choosing a health plan, be wary of unexpected bills with a high-deductible policy
By Michelle Andrews, Special to The Washington Post on Nov. 13, 2012, at 9:47 a.m.
Alison Mitisek was at a Denver pediatrician’s office with her 15-month-old son last August when she passed out. The doctor’s office staff called an ambulance, which rushed her to a nearby emergency department. Doctors were not able to determine why Mitisek, a 30-year-old schoolteacher, lost consciousness. Still, the bills for ...
7 ways to save on your health insurance in 2013
By Marcia Heroux Pounds, Sun Sentinel (MCT) on Nov. 05, 2012, at 9:07 a.m.
In choosing health insurance, Cariann Moore used an online spreadsheet tool provided by her employer to compare insurance plans. She found that a high-deductible plan with a lower price tag would save her money. “For me, it makes it so much easier and demystifies what can be a little overwhelming ...
Obamacare tax penalty to hit nearly 6M uninsured people
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press on Sept. 20, 2012, at 11:55 a.m.
WASHINGTON — Nearly 6 million Americans — significantly more than first estimated— will face a tax penalty under President Barack Obama’s health overhaul for not getting insurance, congressional analysts said Wednesday. Most would be in the middle class. The new estimate amounts to an inconvenient fact for the administration, a ...
Premiums for family health plans hit $15,745
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press on Sept. 11, 2012, at 2:53 p.m.
WASHINGTON — It sounds like good news: Annual premiums for job-based family health plans went up only 4 percent this year. But hang on to your wallets. Premiums averaged $15,745, with employees paying more than $4,300 of that, a glaring reminder that the nation’s problem of unaffordable medical care is ...
Report: Young Mainers pay less for health coverage, elderly pay more under insurance law
By Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News on Sept. 04, 2012, at 4:37 p.m.
Even as many states gear up for tougher insurance regulations under the federal health law, Maine lawmakers last year bucked the trend, loosening rules they blamed for some of the highest premiums in the nation. Proponents promised lower rates for all Maine residents, with increased competition among insurers. But six ...
Feds bypassing GOP governors to build health insurance exchanges
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press on Aug. 07, 2012, at 12:56 p.m.
WASHINGTON — Don’t look now: The feds may be gaining on GOP governors who’ve balked at carrying out a key part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul law. Opponents of the law say they won’t set up new private health insurance markets called exchanges. But increasingly it’s looking like ...
How to save money on your medical bills
By CHRISTINA REXRODE, AP Business Writer on Jan. 13, 2012, at 10:22 a.m.
NEW YORK — Few things make me feel as clueless as a bill from my doctor’s office. I don’t recognize the abbreviations or understand the jargon. I can’t tell when I’m being charged too much. And there’s no screen on the wall, at least not at my doctor’s office, tallying ...
VIDEO
LePage talks on reforming Maine’s health insurance market at the Heritage Foundation
on July 28, 2011, at 11:05 a.m.
The Heritage Foundation has posted on its website a video of the July 18 program “States Moving Away from Government-Run Health Care” featuring talks by Maine Gov. Paul LePage and Tarren Bragdon, president and CEO of the Florida-based Foundation for Government Accountability and former CEO of the Maine Heritage Policy ...
EDITORIALS
Health care bill a costly win
on May 18, 2011, at 9:11 p.m.
Even before Gov. Paul LePage had signed a rushed health insurance reform bill into law, opponents of the measure were talking about a people’s veto. People’s vetoes should be reserved for emergencies; proponents of repealing the law have to cross a high hurdle to prove this is the time for ...
Maine Senate enacts sweeping partisan health insurance reform
AUGUSTA, Maine — The state Senate gave final approval Monday to a health care reform bill that aims to spark more competition in Maine’s insurance market but that critics contend could drive up costs, particularly in rural areas of the state. With a 24-10 vote, the Senate ended weeks of ...
POLL QUESTION
Senate vote on health care overhaul on hold until Monday
AUGUSTA, Maine — A Republican-backed health care overhaul bill aimed at encouraging competition and driving down insurance premiums in Maine has been put on hold until Monday. Republicans and Democrats debated through the night before the Senate decided shortly before 1 a.m. Friday to adjourn without a final vote. ...
Democrats warn health insurance overhaul could drive up costs as legislators prepare for debate
AUGUSTA, Maine — Democratic lawmakers repeated calls Monday for a more bipartisan approach to overhauling Maine’s health insurance market, warning that a Republican measure could drive up costs for older Mainers as well as residents and businesses in rural areas. Republicans, meanwhile, showed no signs of backing off their plan ...
Public comment session for Anthem rate increase Tuesday in Orono
Due to delayed notification of some policyholders, the Maine Bureau of Insurance has scheduled a second public comment session in Orono regarding proposed rate increases for individual health insurance plans sold by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine. This session will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. ...
Public session in Orono to be held over Anthem’s proposed 10 percent rate increase
The Associated Press on March 25, 2011, at 7:49 a.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine insurance regulators are scheduling a fourth session to hear comments from the public on Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield’s proposed rate increases. Anthem has requested rate increases of about 10 percent on average for several of its individual health insurance products covering about 11,000 customers. If ...
Items found, authorities pursuing leads in search for Glenburn teen
Silenced by legislators at budget talks, LePage says Mainers are being played for ‘patsies’
Family of third plane crash victim puts Knox County on notice
Hampden firm pokes holes in traditional boat mooring, leaving room for lobsters, crabs and other sea life
Jeffrey Nugent says his brother Ted Nugent is wrong on background checks
Ignore LePage politics, get to root of DHHS funding needs
