Balancing Act II: Health costs killing us
November 14, 2011
Obama’s health care law was born in Iowa. Will it die there?
Pushed out of D.C., Berwick still focused on health care
Caregivers must be advocates, he says
California's healthcare spending per person among lowest in U.S.
Healthcare spending in California is well below the national average, according to new federal data — largely because of high numbers of uninsured and low Medi-Cal reimbursement rates, analysts say.
By Duke Helfand, Los Angeles Times
8:47 PM PST, December 7, 2011
Posted: December 8 Updated: Today at 11:30 PM Our View: LePage's MaineCare plan no way to cut costsWith higher premiums and lost federal funding, Maine can’t afford these ‘savings.’Gov. Paul LePage likes to talk about personal responsibility, but his proposal to gut the state’s health care safety net is irresponsible, through and through. http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?expire=&title=Our+View%3A+LePage%27s+MaineCare+plan+no+way+to+cut+costs+%7C+The+Portland+Press+Herald+%2F+Maine+Sunday+Telegram&urlID=466507632&action=cpt&partnerID=582767&cid=135222148&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pressherald.com%2Fopinion%2FOur-View-LePages-MaineCare-plan-no-way-to-cut-costs.html |
LePage’s proposed MaineCare cuts leave some reeling, others hopeful
By Jackie Farwell, BDN Staff
Posted Dec. 07, 2011, at 6:46 p.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — A day after Gov. Paul LePage called for a drastic overhaul of the MaineCare program, organizations that serve the state’s vulnerable were left reeling in the face of painful cuts.
With reactions ranging from a hopeful wait-and-see attitude to outright indignation, health and social services providers and advocates for the elderly, the poor and children worked to tease specifics from the sweeping proposal. LePage zeroed in on MaineCare, the state’s version of the federal Medicaid program, in his plan to address a $220 million shortfall over the next two years in the Department of Health and Human Services budget. MaineCare, including state and federal spending, represents a third of the total state budget.
Safety net should be shrunk, not shredded
Posted Dec. 07, 2011, at 3:47 p.m.
The growing shortfall in the budget of the Department of Health and Human Services is a serious problem. But lawmakers need answers to many questions before they decide if the governor’s proposed solution is the right medicine.
The first is whether the scope of the problem is really as bad as portrayed. One week, DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew told lawmakers there was a $70 million shortfall for the current year. Days later, she said it was more than $120 million.
Gov. Paul LePage has long said Maine’s safety net is too generous and needs to be trimmed back. We hope he is not overplaying a problem to make changes based on ideology.
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