Category Archives: Affordable Care Act

Vital Signs newsletter: Insurers seek modest rate increases

Some feared health insurance premiums would skyrocket under the Affordable Care Act. But the two insurers selling plans to Maine consumers want to raise rates just modestly in 2015, well below the double-digit hikes seen in previous years. The proposed rates offer a tentative first look at how much insurers seek to charge during the second year […]

Vital Signs newsletter: Lewiston insurer attracts rural Mainers under ACA

More than 40,000 Mainers have signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Most of them chose a plan through Maine Community Health Options, a new member-run insurer that captured 80 percent of the market here despite competition from the much larger and well-established Anthem. New figures released by MCHO reveal the startup made […]

As ACA deadline looms, Maine doctors show support for single-payer health care

With March 31 fast approaching as the deadline to buy health insurance under the Affordable Care act, the state’s largest physicians group has released new survey results showing Maine doctors favor a very different kind of health reform. The survey of Maine Medical Association members shows nearly two-thirds of doctors prefer a single-payer health care system. […]

MaineCare: As expansion debate rages, already ‘eligible’ remain in limbo

Much of the focus on the new Affordable Care Act enrollment numbers released Monday has centered around private insurance. In Maine, that’s the 13,704 residents who have chosen a health plan through either Anthem or nonprofit insurer Maine Community Health Options. But another 3,236 Mainers who signed onto Healthcare.gov since October have learned they’re possibly […]

Reaction swift to Oregon Medicaid study showing more ER use

Critics of expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act are jumping on a new study released Thursday that undermines a chief argument for boosting the rolls of the government health insurance program for the poor. The study, published in the journal Science, found that newly insured Medicaid recipients visited emergency departments significantly more than the […]

A look at how expanding MaineCare could play out by county

A coalition advocating the expansion of Medicaid in Maine under the Affordable Care Act has released a county-level breakdown of the potential impact. The Cover Maine Now! Coalition had previously estimated that expanding the health insurance program for low-income Americans, known here as MaineCare, would bring coverage to about 70,000 people, including 25,000 Mainers due […]