Romney’s plan may undercut Mass. law
Would trim Medicaid funds state relies on; Threatens to undermine his key achievement
Judge signs off on order moving young Mainers with disabilities out of nursing homes
Posted May 03, 2012, at 10:26 a.m.
BANGOR, Maine — Eric Reeves has the same goals as most people: graduating high school, earning a college degree and securing a job. But his biggest goal is moving out of Eastside Rehabilitation and Living Center.
“I am 35 years old,” said Reeves, who has cerebral palsy. “I don’t belong in a nursing home. It’s a good place when you need it but I just want to be with people my age.”
Following a class-action lawsuit settlement signed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, Reeves and others who have physical disabilities will have a chance at a more normal life. Reeves was one of three men who sued the Maine Department of Health and Human Services in 2009. The suit alleged that DHHS, in the operation of the MaineCare program, which is the state’s version of Medicaid, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Nursing Home Reform Act by not providing federally mandated services that promote independence and community involvement.
Con: Democrats had to act on health care, but they erred by not passing a single-payer plan
Published: Friday, May 04, 2012, 4:00 AM
Was Barney Frank right when he recently asserted that Congress erred by rushing through healthcare reform?By Wayne Madsen
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rep. Barney Frank has been right on many things during his 32 years as a champion of the underdog in the House of Representatives, but he was dead wrong when he recently remarked that Democrats acted precipitously by rushing healthcare reform into law at start of President Obama's first term.
The remark has angered many congressional Democrats, some of whom wasted no time in suggesting that Frank's gargantuan-sized ego had been bruised by the fact that his party sidetracked his sweeping financial services reform bill to pass the unwieldy and widely unpopular Obamacare.
http://blog.oregonlive.com/opinion_impact/print.html?entry=/2012/05/con_democrats_had_to_act_on_he.html
Discrepancies on Medical Bills Can Leave a Credit Stain
By TARA SIEGEL BERNARD
When Ray White’s son was about 9 years old, he struck a tree branch while riding his bike. Within minutes, an ambulance whisked him off to the emergency room. The boy recovered, but many months and phone calls later, Mr. White’s insurance company still had not paid the $200 ambulance bill, even though the insurer had assured him it was covered. He finally decided it was easier to pay it himself.
But by then, it was already too late. Unbeknown to Mr. White, the debt had been reported to the credit bureaus. It was only when he and his wife went to refinance the $240,000 mortgage on their home in Lewisville, Tex., last month — nearly six years after the accident — that he learned the bill had shaved about 100 points from his credit score. Even with no other debts, a healthy income and otherwise pristine credit, the couple had to pay an extra $4,000 to secure a lower interest rate.
“It wasn’t like I ignored it,” said Mr. White, 47, an executive in Internet advertising. “It’s not like I’m a credit risk in any way, shape or form.”
Even people with good insurance coverage know how hard it can be to figure out how much they owe after a visit to the doctor or, even worse, the emergency room, which can generate multiple bills. But as patients become responsible for a growing share of costs — not just co-payments, but also deductibles and coinsurance — bill paying is becoming ever more complex.
House targets health spending
Proposal aims to cut growth in half; Excessive prices would lead to tax
Massachusetts House leaders released a major proposal to curb health care costs Friday, calling for new limits on the fees charged by hospitals and doctors and for creation of an independent agency to monitor medical spending. The lawmakers project their plan would save families an average of $2,000 annually on health insurance premiums.
The long-awaited bill would require the health care industry to cut the growth in spending in about half by 2016, so that it is below the growth of the overall Massachusetts economy.
Maine Voices: Affordable Care Act neglects needs of moderate-income Americans
Continuing on the path of inequitable spending, the law will still leave 27 million people uninsured.
By ALICE KNAPP
While I might once have been persuaded that the law's coverage gains justify its failings, I now equate leaving 27 million Americans uninsured with having passed a law that freed but 90 percent of this nation's slaves
http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?expire=&title=Maine+Voices%3A+Affordable+Care+Act+neglects+needs+of+moderate-income+Americans&urlID=477970431&action=cpt&partnerID=582767&cid=150251635&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pressherald.com%2Fopinion%2Faffordable-care-act-neglects-needs-of-moderate-income-americans_2012-05-05.html
Maine Voices: MaineCare cuts will end up costing state far more down the road
The Legislature must vote to preserve programs but make them more efficient.
By REP. LINDA SANBORN
GORHAM - The Maine Legislature made a terrible mistake last year, and it could be set to make another one in a few weeks.
Last year, under incredible pressure from Gov. Paul Le-Page, his ideological allies led the fight to take health care away from 500 people as part of a larger budget compromise.
It should have never been done, and I didn't vote for it.
Now, Maine Equal Justice Partners and the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine Foundation are suing the state on grounds that the Legislature's action violates the equal protection guarantee of the U.S. Constitution.
I'm a doctor, not a lawyer, and I don't know how a court will decide on the issue, but I do know that the decision -- an attempt to pacify the governor and his most ardent allies in the Legislature -- was wrong.
http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?expire=&title=Maine+Voices%3A+MaineCare+cuts+will+end+up+costing+state+far+more+down+the+road&urlID=477894291&action=cpt&partnerID=582767&cid=150115995&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pressherald.com%2Fopinion%2Fmainecare-cuts-will-end-up-costing-state-far-more-down-the-road_2012-05-04.html
Medicare’s $8 billion advantage
Posted May 04, 2012, at 5:50 p.m.
One of the significant reforms in the health care law was to put private Medicare plans on a more equal footing with the traditional government program. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act altered the payment structure in which the private plans, known as Medicare Advantage, were essentially overpaid in comparison to the traditional fee-for-service plan, receiving about $114 for every $100 spent on traditional Medicare. With about a quarter of Medicare beneficiaries now enrolled in private plans, the change was projected to save a significant amount of money: $145 billion over nine years.
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