News
Here’s how health care costs can be brought under control | Letter
2+ hour, 44+ min ago (211+ words) It took an insurance executive to reinforce my conviction that we need publicly funded universal health care! In a Feb. 20 op-ed, Denise McDonough, chief executive of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Maine, correctly notes that, because of consolidation,…...
ACA premium tax credits must be reinstated | Opinion
1+ mon, 3+ day ago (487+ words) John Gold co-owns an editing and graphic design company in Saco. I am 63 years old, and self-employed. For most of my working life, I've had to pay for my own insurance. Since 2013, I've been able to do that through the…...
Health insurers are hurting Maine’s most vulnerable patients | Opinion
1+ mon, 3+ week ago (433+ words) Alexander Katopis of Saco is a University of Southern Maine employee and co-owner of a community-based mental health agency. At four and a half months old, my son was diagnosed with positional plagiocephaly, a condition involving asymmetrical flattening of an…...
Maine secures $1.9M settlement for bitcoin kiosk scam victims
2+ mon, 3+ day ago (524+ words) Bitcoin Depot's website no longer lists kiosks in Maine. "They've been gone since last summer," said Linda Conti, bureau superintendent. Most of the company's machines were in York, Cumberland, Kennebec and Penobscot counties, Conti said. It's unclear how many Mainers…...
It’s time to fish or cut bait on Maine’s health care crisis | Opinion
2+ mon, 1+ week ago (480+ words) Joan Belcher of Alna is both a registered nurse and a licensed health insurance broker and Affordable Care Act expert. For 29 years, I've served as both a registered nurse and additionally a licensed health insurance broker and Affordable Care Act…...
ACA enrollment for 2026 declining in Maine, thousands cancel plans
2+ mon, 2+ week ago (653+ words) Maine's Affordable Care Act enrollment for 2026 is down and thousands have dropped their plans, with many saying they couldn't afford the higher monthly premiums. Enrollment had dropped 7% as of Dec. 15, compared to the same time last year, and about 5,500 enrollees…...
Health insurance companies should pay a price for abandoning Maine | Opinion
2+ mon, 3+ week ago (1080+ words) Jeffrey S. Barkin,MD, DLFAPA, is a practicing psychiatrist in Portland and the former president of Maine Medical Association. He co-hosts "A Healthy Conversation" on WGAN. These fears are not partisan. They do not belong to one ideology or another. They…...
Small business owners in Maine facing huge spikes in ACA premiums
3+ mon, 1+ week ago (1178+ words) Mary Link loves her job as a self-employed business owner, helping to run a home improvement company with her husband, Jeremy. But the Links, like other small business owners across the state, are facing a large increase in their Affordable…...
California nonprofit can acquire Central Maine Healthcare in Lewiston, state says
3+ mon, 1+ week ago (314+ words) Prime Healthcare Foundation can acquire Central Maine Healthcare as long as it does not cut hospitals or essential services, state officials said this week. Central Maine Healthcare, which owns Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, Bridgton Hospital, Rumford Hospital and…...
Maine small business owners bracing for soaring health care premiums if ACA tax credits expire
3+ mon, 2+ week ago (781+ words) SOUTH PORTLAND " Small business owners and self-employed workers at a roundtable discussion on Monday told Maine Gov. Janet Mills and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree that their health insurance premiums will spiral and cost thousands of dollars per month if certain Affordable…...