One policy analyst says it’s innovative to use Health Savings Accounts to help pay for coverage, but another expert sees serious drawbacks in the Obamacare alternative.
Joe Lawlor
Staff Writer
Joe Lawlor writes about health and human services for the Press Herald. A 24-year newspaper veteran, Lawlor has worked in Ohio, Michigan and Virginia before relocating to Maine in 2013 to join the Press Herald. He is still considered “from away” but since then, he has learned what a “dooryard” is, eaten “whoopie pies” drank Moxie and boiled some “lobstahs.” The stories he enjoys most are when he learns something and meeting inspiring people.
He lives in South Portland - aka “SoPo” - with his wife, Melanie, and two school-age children.
Posted inNation & World, News
A Q&A on the Patient Freedom Act, the proposed ACA substitute
Many aspects of the plan, including typical premiums and deductibles, remain unclear.
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Posted inLocal & State, Nation & World, News, Politics
Sen. Collins unveils details of ACA replacement that gives more power to states
The Maine senator hopes to attract support from both parties with a plan that offers thousands in annual payments to people for their health care.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Medical ethics bill targets drug company payments to Maine doctors
The proposal would restrict gifts and other spending that promote prescribing of opioids in a state that is trying to curtail patient use of the painkillers.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Maine fishermen hooked on Obamacare, but now benefits are threatened
Enrollment levels are high in Maine communities where lobstermen tend to live, and many have coverage for the first time.
Posted inLocal & State, Nation & World, News, Politics
Maine’s Sen. Collins co-develops plan to replace Affordable Care Act
It would let states keep the ACA insurance programs they have or try other options, she says, hoping millions would avoid losing health coverage after a repeal of the law.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Collins, King split votes on starting Affordable Care Act repeal
In an overnight vote, Collins voted with all but one fellow Republican to repeal the health care law.
Posted inLocal & State, News
ACA repeal would jeopardize addiction treatment for about 8,300 Mainers, researchers say
The loss of coverage in the state would come amid an opioid crisis in which an average of one person a day dies from an overdose.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
LePage budget plan would disqualify thousands from MaineCare benefits
Tightening eligibility for the federal health care program would save the state $33 million while making it one of the stingiest in the nation for helping able-bodied poor adults.
Posted inHealth, Local & State, News
Barriers discourage Maine doctors from providing Suboxone to opioid addicts
Financial and other disincentives make it ‘a lot to ask,’ but recent progress that includes more funding for medication-assisted treatment offers signs of hope.