Those who could be most influential in bringing about change aren’t doing anything to achieve it.
Medicare
10 drugs targeted for Medicare price negotiations as Biden pitches cost reductions
The move is expected to cut costs for some patients but faces litigation from the drugmakers and heavy criticism from Republican lawmakers.
Our View: When will we pay appropriate attention to late-life care?
Under Medicare, eligibility for hospice care is narrowly capped. Once it ends, as a recent Press Herald report outlined in heartrending detail, you’re on your own.
A Cumberland couple’s hospice care has ended. Their need for it has not
The home visits that Babette O’Dwyer, 94, has been receiving since suffering a stroke in 2018 have been cut off, putting the entire burden on her 77-year-old husband, Bartholomew.
Letter to the editor: Martin’s Point case shows need for Medicare for all
An excellent article by reporter Joe Lawlor was headlined “Martin’s Point fraud settlement highlights shortcomings in Medicare Advantage program” (Aug. 4). It might have said the settlement highlights shortcomings in “private, market-based insurance.” Over and over again, we bemoan the failings of treating health care as a business. Yet we are the only developed country […]
Martin’s Point Health Care to pay $22 million to settle Medicare fraud claims
An agreement announced Monday, the largest Medicare fraud settlement in state history, includes a $3.8 million payment to a whistleblower who sued Martin’s Point in 2018 alleging that it was miscoding the health conditions of Medicare Advantage patients.
Commentary: On anniversary of their founding, we must recognize value of Medicare, Medicaid
About 50% of Mainers benefit from these programs, but we still have far to go to improve our health as a nation, including improvements in life expectancy, preventable hospitalizations and infant mortality.
New law will put more dollars into pockets of older, low-income Mainers
About 19,000 Maine residents over 65, many of them low-income women living alone, will be made eligible for the program under the new law.
Commentary: Expand Medicare Savings Program, allow Mainers to age with dignity
When my fellow legislators and I speak with older constituents, we too often hear about the exorbitant price of medication, heat and electricity and the impossibility of buying gifts for grandchildren.
Tom Purcell: Hey, Medicare, I’m counting on you
I will qualify for Medicare coverage in five years and, much to my surprise, I can’t wait to get government health coverage — because my current coverage is pricey. I recently finished a consulting assignment, which provided me full health benefits. To maintain my health insurance policy through Cobra, I must pay $750 a month. […]