Efforts to create a statewide network of prescription assistance programs have stalled because of a lack of buy-in by doctors and hospital executives.
health insurance
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Maine Senate passes bipartisan prescription drug reform bills
One bill would allow Maine to negotiate to purchase drugs from Canada, while others would increase drug pricing transparency.
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Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Maine hospitals can’t set prices for two-thirds of patients
The government determines the fees for those who are on Medicaid or Medicare or are uninsured.
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
Our View: The shifting behind Maine health care costs
Hospitals charge private insurance three times more for the same services paid by Medicare.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Patients ask Legislature to restrict insurers’ control over medications
But an insurance industry representative argues that a bill to regulate ‘step therapy’ would favor ‘costlier, but no more therapeutically effective, brand name drugs.’
Posted inMaine Voices, Opinion
Maine Voices: We’ve tried everything else – it’s time for universal health care
Even Maine people with insurance can’t afford to access care, and hospitals are going broke.
Posted inBusiness, Health, Life & Culture, Local & State, Nation & World, News
Across Maine, prices for the same medical procedures are often staggeringly different
Low patient volumes and scarce competition among providers help make the state one of the most costly for health care in the U.S.
Posted inBusiness, Health, Local & State, Nation & World, News
Maine companies send workers to Boston for health care at ‘fraction of the cost’
Competition among metro-area hospitals pulls prices down, but the outsourcing of patients leads to higher costs in Maine.
Posted inBusiness, Health, Life & Culture, Nation & World, News
Patients slow to warm up to telemedicine, prefer in-person visits
Still, 80 percent of mid-size and large U.S. companies offered the virtual service last year.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, Politics
Health groups take aim at insurance companies’ medication policies
A pending bill would give doctors and patients more say when insurance companies balk at reimbursement and require them to try less expensive alternatives to prescribed medication or treatment.