Stay up to date, Sign up for our e-newsletter!


We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health
information:
verify here.
Maine News Topics:

Editorials

  • Florence House will be welcome addition to cityPortland Press Herald Staff, Portland Press Herald, 2/4/09. The last few years have been especially tough on Portland's homeless women. With the 2007 closure of the YWCA, the only refuge for one of the city's most vulnerable populations has been a stop-gap shelter at the Preble Street Resource Center.
  • Snowe supportive of key stimulus elementsPortland Press Herald Staff, Portland Press Herald, 2/3/09. If Sen. Olympia Snowe knows how far she will stray from the Republican base to support President Obama's stimulus bill, she's not saying.
  • Final piece in our economic collapseJohn Rockefeller, 1/31/09. Having campaigned on a broadly sketched platform of hope for those on the fringes of economic and physical viability, President Obama is watching the ticker line expand to the point where half of the U.S. population considers itself either underemployed or underserved.
  • Don't fall prey to dependence on legal narcotic drugsPeter Mills, Bangor Daily News, 1/29/09. Anyone who has tried to give up drinking coffee or stop smoking cigarettes knows at least a little about chemical dependence. These daily habits we fall into can slowly gain possession of our minds and bodies in ways that are surprisingly insistent. They can’t compare, however, with narcotic drugs that can take control over a person’s life like nothing else on Earth.
  • Maine health care professionals often reach out to help the suffering poorSamuel Broaddus, Portland Press Herald, 1/29/09. In his inauguration speech, President Barack Obama has asked us to recognize "that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task."
  • State Reimbursement Plan Is Bad MedicineMeredith Norris, DO, Ellsworth American, 1/29/09. I’m disappointed that the subcommittee on hospital funding chose, on Wednesday, Jan. 21, to nonetheless recommend cutting MaineCare reimbursement to 70 percent of what Medicare pays (which is not a whole lot, either). I’m wondering what we primary care physicians in Maine (who, as you know, do the lion’s share of work in caring for this population, while remaining the worst paid physicians in the country) should infer from this decision?
  • Bangor dental health program closure should raise alarmDr. James Schmidt, Bangor Daily News, 1/28/09. The recent closing of Bangor’s oral health program should be a source of concern for us all. While the reasons for closing the program make sense from the short-term financial view of the Bangor City Council, the long-term financial and public health implications are alarming.
  • With care, we can cut health costsDr. Erik Steele, Bangor Daily News, 1/27/09. In previous recessions, most of us with health insurance looked somewhere other than our health care to save money. Nowadays, high deductibles and co-payments have meant getting health care takes money right out of our pockets, and that has some of you cutting your personal expenses by putting parts of your health care on hold. But cutting your own health care costs is potentially deadly work; if you are not prepared to operate with the care of a surgeon, cut somewhere else. On the other hand, with a little care, many of us can cut our medical spending without cutting our own throats.
  • Point Man on HealthBangor Daily News Staff, Bangor Daily News, 1/26/09. Tom Daschle, slated for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and director of a new White House Office on Health Care Reform, has already told President Barack Obama how to get started: “The next president should act immediately to capitalize on the goodwill that greets any incoming administration.”
  • Blue Hill hospital needed in remote areasSharon Bray, Bangor Daily News, 1/22/09. Blue Hill Memorial Hospital has been a leader in providing safe, family-centered childbirth for Hancock County for four decades. Recently administrators have proposed closing the obstetrical unit as financial problems increase. If BHMH no longer serves birthing families, the community will suffer great loss, and the hospital is likely to become a geriatric center.
  • Mercury program makes it pay to do the right thingPortland Press Herald Staff, Portland Press Herald, 1/20/09. It always feels good to do the right thing. But it feels even better when you get paid to do it.  The state has provided such an opportunity, and it's one that every eligible property owner should try to grab a hold of.
  • Baldacci's budget spreads the 'pinch'Portland Press Herald Staff, Portland Press Herald, 1/19/09. Speaking to a group of central Maine business people, Gov. Baldacci succinctly summed up his two-year budget proposal.
  • Distraction affects drivers, young and oldAnne L. Hess, Bangor Daily News, 1/19/09. The ongoing discussion of older drivers has raised an important issue that is being presented in an oversimplified form, ignoring very complex underpinnings within the human nervous system. Solutions are vital to our state, as we have a scarcity of alternatives to individual driving. Let’s be objective and methodical in our approach rather than singling out people of a certain age.
  • EMMC overburdened by proposed state budget cutsDr. James Raczek, Bangor Daily News, 1/19/09. Recently, I had the privilege of sharing some frank and direct conversation with state legislators regarding the proposed cut to Maine’s hospital-employed physicians. As Eastern Maine Medical Center’s vice president and chief medical officer, I make sure that EMMC has the physician work force to provide specialty medical services for the northern two-thirds of Maine. That responsibility is weighing heavily on me as I contemplate the risks involved if the state withdraws substantial financial support for hospital-based physicians through MaineCare.
  • More competition, or just more costs?David T. Flanagan, Times Record, 1/16/09. This year, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services Certificate of Need Division will review a proposal by Central Maine Medical Center of Lewiston to take over operations of Parkview Adventist Medical Center in Brunswick. Parkview's parent company announced earlier in the year that it could no longer sustain operations and CMMC, one of Maine's largest health systems, stepped in and offered to take over the 55-bed hospital.
  • Maine's Rare DiseasesBangor Daily News Staff, Bangor Daily News, 1/15/09. People on Deer Isle have a special interest in a rare disease called SPG4. Dozens of them carry the mutant gene that make them susceptible, although worldwide it strikes only two to four in 100,000.
  • Turning health care over to private sector has failedGordon L. Weil, Kennebec Journal, 1/15/09. One of the most vexing problems the United States faces is health care.
  • Budgets of 40 state programs out of balanceTarren Bragdon, Kennebec Journal, 1/14/09. As legislators start work on a state two-year budget deficit of $840 million, they would do well to learn from the famous bank robber Willie Sutton, who, when asked why he robbed banks, stated "because that's where the money is."
  • After surgery, you realize ordinary tasks aren't simpleDavid B. Offer, Kennebec Journal, 1/13/09. But I couldn't. There I was, properly belted in place, unable to get free because the buckle on the seat belt is on the left side, and my left arm is temporarily useless -- stuck in a bulky padded sling. That means I can't buckle the seat belt without help -- and I'm stuck in place until someone sets me free.
  • Ask doctors about health cost cutsDr. Erik Steele, Bangor Daily News, 1/13/09. Last week I was pleading with Maine state legislators not to cut Maine Medicaid dollars to rural hospitals and some smart aleck legislator asked what I would cut instead. I hated it, but that’s a darn good question for all physicians. The answer: If physicians don’t want one set of cuts in health care spending they should help Maine and other states find different cuts that matter less. No single profession is better equipped to help legislators and others cut money from health care.
  • Cuts in Baldacci's budget will affect almost everyoneKennebec Journal Staff, Kennebec Journal, 1/13/09. Gov. John Baldacci deserves credit for fashioning a state budget in difficult times that spreads the pain around and doesn't rely on tax increases to fix the growing gap between what Maine spends and what Maine has in the bank.
  • Clarifying issues on midwifery and home birthingShelby L. Wilbourn, Bangor Daily News, 1/12/09. As a practicing board certified obstetrician/gynecologist of 22 years, I feel that it is necessary to clarify a few issues brought forth in the recent support of midwifery home deliveries, “Support home birthing” (BDN letters, Jan. 1).
  • Proposed health-care cuts unconscionableMark Biscone, Village Soup, 1/12/09. State and federal governments currently owe Waldo County General Hospital (WCGH) more than $12 million for the period spanning from 2004 to 2008. No interest is being paid on this money.
  • Sex ed too costly? Let puppets (or parents) teach itJustin Ellis, Portland Press Herald, 1/12/09. Again with the sex ed problems, Portland? Really?
  • Should state employees pay more for health insurance?Bangor Daily News, 1/12/09. At the present, single state employees bear no portion of the cost of health insurance.
  • Drug makers not reckless about productsEd Robinson, Portland Press Herald, 1/10/09. Writing on Dec. 30 ("Drug manufacturers shouldn't be immune if products cause harm"), Nan Aron and Sharon Treat imply unethical behavior by drug manufacturers, but ignore the reality of the drug industry.
  • Snowmobile deaths illustrate danger to kidsMorning Sentinel Staff, Morning Sentinel, 1/9/09. Snowmobiling consistently ranks as one of the most dangerous winter sports, judged by accident and death rates. Five snowmobilers died in Maine last March within 72 hours of each other.
  • A challenge of historic scale awaits in AugustaPortland Press Herald Staff, Portland Press Herald, 1/7/09. The new state Legislature gets to work today during what will be the most challenging session for Maine lawmakers since 1991.
  • Budget timeBangor Daily News Staff, Bangor Daily News, 1/6/09. Faced with a growing budget shortfall, lawmakers have the difficult task of balancing the need to come up quickly with a plan to cut spending with the need to hear alternative ideas. Tipping too far away from an open, accessible process risks rejection of the outcome — as was seen with the recent repeal of a beverage tax to fund Dirigo Health. Moving too slowly, however, could mean greater reductions in services and programs.
  • Portland's sex-ed cut plan a reasonable responsePortland Press Herald Staff, Portland Press Herald, 1/5/09. Almost every year of its existence, Portland's Family Living program has come under attack. If it looks like this year is no different, look again.
  • Smokers work to find a placeRenee Ordway, Bangor Daily News, 1/3/09. When I was in high school we had a fairly sizable group of students who were referred to as the “coat kids.” It wasn’t because they had especially nice coats or especially ugly coats; it’s just that during the winter they wore their coats all of the time.
  • Resolutions for better health and wellness require positive stepsJeff Holmstrom, Portland Press Herald, 1/1/09. It's that time of the year for reflection on the year passing and resolutions for the year ahead. This annual rite of passage holds both promise and peril.
  • Tobacco's a proven poison, so now what?John Porter, Portland Press Herald, 12/21/08. I had occasion to stay in Alexandria, Va., earlier this year, a town I found at once familiar yet alien.
  • Budget BlueprintBangor Daily News Staff, Bangor Daily News, 12/18/08. As important as the details of the governor’s supplemental budget is the bipartisan, cooperative spirit that met the proposal to cut jobs and reduce spending to address a $140 million shortfall in the current budget. Finding common ground will be key to quickly passing a revised spending plan for the remainder of this fiscal year and, more important, for writing the budget for the next two years.
  • No refunds for cost of smokingPortland Press Herald, 12/18/08. Listen up, Joe Nicfit. All that hard-earned dough you've spent on "light" cigarettes over the years may soon find its way back to your pocket.
  • A College Savings StartBangor Daily News Staff, Bangor Daily News, 12/17/08. Thousands of Maine kids will get a start on college savings next year — just by being born. The Harold Alfond College Challenge goes statewide on Jan. 1 after a successful start this year at MaineGeneral Health facilities in Waterville and Augusta.
  • The gift of second chancesDr. Erik Steele, Bangor Daily News, 12/16/08. Sometimes the best thing a woman ever does for a man is to administer kicks in his pants until he smartens up. This man had been suffering from chest pain all evening but was too stubborn to go to the emergency department and get checked out until his wife nagged him into it. Five minutes after he got to us in the ED he tried to die right in front of our eyes; his mouth stopped talking, his lungs stopped breathing, and his heart stopped beating.
  • Seeking alternatives to confrontationBill Nemitz, Portland Press Herald, 12/11/08. It wasn't an unreasonable request. A defense attorney, worried about the mental state of his incarcerated client, called Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion one evening and asked whether Dion could check on how the guy was doing down at the county jail.
  • Insurance ReformBangor Daily News Staff, Bangor Daily News, 12/10/08. The country’s health insurance industry was praised last week for joining the national debate over universal health coverage. Pledges to give up its ability to reject people with pre-existing medical conditions and its long-standing objection to guarantees of insurance coverage could represent a significant change for the insurance industry. A major stumbling block to health insurance and care reform, however, could be what the industry wants in exchange, perhaps weak requirements for basic coverage.
  • State expands struggle against domestic abusersKennebec Journal Staff, Kennebec Journal, 12/10/08. Seventeen Mainers have been killed so far this year by their spouses, ex-spouses, partners or ex-partners. That's more than twice the number of domestic violence-related homicides in 2007.
  • After budget frills are gone, it's time to end agency duplicationDavid B. Offer, Morning Sentinel, 12/9/08. Gov. John Baldacci and state legislators can learn some unpleasant but essential facts about budgeting from Augusta School Superintendent Cornelia Brown.
  • Random alcohol testing at dances teaches students wrong lessonPortland Press Herald Staff, Portland Press Herald, 12/7/08. You can go too far, even if all you are trying to do is protect kids, as School Administrative District 67’s new alcohol policy shows.
  • Social services will take a huge hitJohn Porter, Portland Press Herald, 12/7/08. Massive cuts to programs for the needy will be a complex task, so why not call in some experts?
  • Budget cutters need scalpels like surgeons, not axes like lumberjacksGordon L. Weil, Kennebec Journal, 12/4/08. This is the week that the newly elected Maine Legislature arrives in Augusta.
  • Health care spending: Let's talkDr. Erik Steele, Bangor Daily News, 12/2/08. Drunken sailors cannot hold a candle to physicians when it comes to spending money. Come to my office, get a few blood tests and a gallbladder ultrasound ordered, have an EKG, and the total bill could be $500. A new titanium hip courtesy of your orthopedic surgeon could cost $25,000 or more.
  • 5 myths about our ailing health-care systemShannon Brownlee & Ezekiel Emanuel, Kennebec Journal, 11/28/08. With Congress ready to spend $700 billion to prop up the U.S. economy, enacting health-care reform may seem about as likely as the Dow hitting 10,000 again before the end of the year. But it may be more doable than you think, provided we dispel a few myths about how health care works and how much reform Americans are willing to stomach.
  • Fixing Our Health CareBangor Daily News Staff, Bangor Daily News, 11/28/08. Americans have had it drummed into them for generations that they have the world’s best health care system. Once again, we now are told by a widely respected organization that it’s not true. This time, we are in a position to do something about it.
  • Hunger problems are serious in MainePortland Press Herald Staff, Portland Press Herald, 11/27/08. Thanksgiving is the time we set aside to show appreciation for all that we have.
  • Soda and Food StampsEllsworth American Staff, Ellsworth American, 11/27/08. Earlier this month, in a Bangor Daily News commentary, Dr. Jonathan Shenkin, a Bangor pediatric dentist and president-elect of the Maine Dental Association, made a persuasive case for removing soda pop from the list of food stamp-eligible purchases.
  • Expect social services, education to be cut againPortland Press Herald Staff, Portland Press Herald, 11/24/08. That the first round of budget cuts from the governor's office has left social services and education budgets largely intact doesn't mean the pain has been avoided.
  • ... For Difficult DecisionsBangor Daily News, 11/22/08. With a short time to significantly cut state spending, lawmakers must remain focused on cutting costs without gutting programs, especially those that serve the state’s most vulnerable population.
  • Budget Clock Ticking ...Bangor Daily News Staff, Bangor Daily News, 11/22/08. Looking through the long list of cuts ordered this week by Gov. John Baldacci, it is easy to see the great difficulty that will plague lawmakers when they reconvene next month. Their challenge is to decide where to reduce state spending while doing the least to harm essential state services and programs. They must do this quickly — the longer they wait before passing a supplemental budget the less time they’ll have to make the cuts.
  • The High Cost of SodaBangor Daily News Staff, Bangor Daily News, 11/20/08. Whenever government takes action that smacks of imposing values on a group of people, critics abound on both the left and right. The most recent case in point is a proposal to remove soda from the list of foods that may be purchased with food stamps. Liberals worry government is discriminating and stigmatizing the poor, while conservatives criticize the state’s perceived paternalism.
  • Dirigo's FutureBangor Daily News Staff, Bangor Daily News, 11/19/08. The repeal of taxes on beer, wine and soda to fund the Dirigo Health program leaves lawmakers with the difficult task of keeping the controversial program afloat. They should focus their efforts on capturing savings and reducing costs, while not losing sight of the fact that Dirigo is more than a subsidized insurance program.
  • As Mainers brace for winter, health care and economy top concernsRep. Hannah Pingree, Kennebec Journal, 11/18/08. With the elections over, pundits are dissecting the results, trying to make sense of what motivated Maine voters at the polls. Mainers are famous for their independence and propensity for ticket-splitting. This year was no exception. It is one of the things I love about this state and its voters.
  • Bills should cut health care costsDr. Erik Steele, Bangor Daily News, 11/18/08. When Maine’s Legislature convenes in January, its members will face lots of bills about health care, but they should focus like lasers on those initiatives that will reduce health care costs in the short term. That’s because, to paraphrase former President Bill Clinton, “It’s the costs, stupid.”
  • Food stamp soda comes with a health billJonathan Shenkin, Bangor Daily News, 11/14/08. The improper use of tax dollars irks me as much as the next Mainer. Any misuse now in these very challenging economic times is even more profoundly disconcerting.
  • Water and wind: New tax revenue?Douglas Rooks, Times Record, 11/13/08. When the Taxation Committee is at work, there's an old ditty that summarizes the discussion: "Don't tax him, don't tax me — tax the guy behind the tree."
  • Reversing ViolenceBangor Daily News, 11/12/08. Just one county in Maine is seeing a decline in domestic violence — or at least a decline in reported incidents. Although it may be difficult to say precisely why Sagadahoc County is reversing this criminal tide, there are some clues.
  • Statin study finds only minor gains for major outlayPortland Press Herald, 11/12/08. There may be better ways to prevent heart attack than drug therapy for low-risk patients.
  • A better, smarter way to deliver children's servicesDean Crocker, Bangor Daily News, 11/8/08. After the struggles last spring to balance the state budget, we are now faced with predictions of an even bigger gap this coming year. The governor is asking department heads to cut 10 percent from their funding requests for next year. With Wall Street in turmoil and a national economic slowdown in progress, it seems a safe bet that there will be no letup in the pressures that have strained Maine’s ability to provide basic public services in recent years.
  • Spending decisionsBangor Daily News, 11/8/08. The Democratic celebration over the party’s gains in the Maine Legislature will be short-lived, if it ever started. The day after Election Day, Gov. John Baldacci issued an order to cut state spending by $150 million, which is likely to prompt the Legislature to meet in a special session before the year is over. Although the state’s financial shortfalls have more to do with the free-falling national economy than with state spending decisions, this problem will fall squarely at the foot of Democrats, requiring difficult decisions about where to reduce state spending.
  • Parkview: Our best years lie aheadMike Ortel, Times Record, 11/7/08. The decision of the Northern New England Conference to have Parkview become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Central Maine Healthcare Family has been met with a tremendously negative public relations campaign by the owners of Mid Coast Hospital who have been trying to extinguish Parkview for the purpose of setting up a hospital monopoly in the Mid-coast Maine region.
  • On Health Care: What Is the Question?Michael D. Skinner, Ellsworth American, 11/6/08. Pick your favorite health care argument:
  • Senior citizens are recession's forgotten peopleGordon L. Weil, Kennebec Journal, 11/6/08. If you are older than 70, the chances are good that your next birthday won't be happy.
  • CDC says flu shots under 18 good for kids, populationPortland Press Herald, 11/4/08. New recommendations seek to save children from misery and slow the spread of disease.
  • Time for More Vitamin DBangor Daily News, 11/4/08. Many Americans are sleep deprived, exercise deprived and fiber deprived. Now it turns out they are probably vitamin D deprived as well.
  • Our next president needs to fight for America's childrenWilliam Shuttleworth, Times Record, 11/3/08. Every election is heralded as the most important. Perhaps, this one is. We are facing the worst financial crisis in our lifetime: too many countries at war with each other, pathetic corporate and political ethics and a generation about to lose its retirement.
  • Without a group, health insurance is hardPortland Press Herald, 11/2/08. Fixing the individual market for health insurance requires new rules, including a mandate to buy coverage.
  • Drink tax will put pennies to work in the right placesPortland Press Herald, 10/31/08. I am a Maine-born citizen, a Registered Professional Nurse, the owner of Hummingbird Home Care, an employer, a Dirigo Choice policy holder and a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission that recommended the new funding for the Dirigo Health.
  • Take time now to study health care options for next yearPortland Press Herald, 10/30/08. This is the time of year when employees have to make decisions about the health insurance plan they want to have in place for next year.
  • Close to Home: In Our Back YardDr. Paul A. Shapero, Portland Press Herald, 10/29/08. Clean indoor air helps keep colds away.
  • "No" on One for Better Health Care ValueChristopher St. John, Ellsworth American, 10/23/08. Controlling health care costs in Maine is essential and that’s one reason why Mainers should vote “no” on Question One.
  • Join the campaign to end domestic violence in all its formsSteve Edmondson, Times Record, 10/23/08. Just when I thought it was safe to drink the water, I and many women in Sagadahoc County received a dose of reality that should serve to remind all of us why my job and many others jobs exist and why many more work tirelessly to make people safe and hold batterers accountable.
  • 'No on 1' means better health careTimes Record, 10/20/08. Dr. Erik Steele, chief medical officer for Eastern Maine Health Care Systems in Bangor and a columnist for the Bangor Daily News, a few weeks ago gave a striking talk to a gathering of the Maine Health Management Coalition titled, "Maine is Burning."
  • Din of economy, election usurps concern for seniorsLaurel Coleman, Bangor Daily News, 10/20/08. I know it is hard to think about anything but the economy. While the financial crisis is dominating our thoughts and the presidential election coverage, I would like to remind Maine residents that there is another important issue to consider as you decide about your vote: The aging of Maine’s population.
  • Society must do more for victims of domestic violenceJessica Lee-Small, Bangor Daily News, 10/20/08. October is National Domestic Violence Month, but who is talking about it? Local domestic violence shelters act as the voice for thousands of Mainers who use their services on an annual basis. And when they’re not donning that hat, advocates and even volunteers representing these shelters work tirelessly to help present-day victims and survivors regain control over their own lives.
  • The need to stop turning our heads awayDeborah Deane, Bangor Daily News, 10/16/08. We live in a country today that is all about image. This quest of the “perfect” eye appeal has given rise to a variety of maladies that plague our society.
  • Defining 'socialized' medicinePat LaMarche, Bangor Daily News, 10/15/08. I got an e-mail yesterday afternoon from a friend of mine who worked on my 2004 campaign for U.S. vice president. He was pretty disheartened with the way things have been going the last four years and asked if I could explain the stock market crisis and what’s happening in the world — because after years of activism and giving a damn — he feels like giving up.
  • Study offers clues to improving healthBangor Daily News, 10/15/08. While gravely concerned about Washington County’s alarming health status commented on in the Oct. 6 BDN editorial “Washington County’s Health,” we are glad to see this problem gain increased attention. While the measures of ill health become clearer as populations age, both our work and national research show that the problems leading to poor health, followed by early and premature death, start during the infant and early childhood years much more frequently than is usually realized or acknowledged.
  • Investing in Maine children pays off in economic well-beingLaurie Lachance, Kennebec Journal, 10/13/08. For 25 years, I have analyzed and made forecasts about Maine's economic condition.
  • A "Yes" Vote on Question 1Ellsworth American, 10/9/08. Back in the spring, majority Democrats in the Maine Legislature, with little or no public discussion, pushed through legislation doubling the tax on beer and wine, creating a new tax on soft drinks and imposing a 1.8-percent surcharge on all claims paid by health insurance companies and self-insured businesses. The estimated $75 million in revenue generated by those changes was earmarked to keep alive Dirigo Health, a subsidized insurance program that never has fulfilled expectations and should have been allowed to die a natural death.
  • Resolve to be more responsibleBangor Daily News, 10/7/08. You may cross me off your Christmas list for saying this, but most of us have not been a whole lot more responsible about the future of our country’s economic health than the idiots on Wall Street. This thought occurred to me as I was driving down the turnpike, yammering on my cell phone to someone about the Wall Street wizards. I was complaining about idiots putting our money at risk while doing the same thing myself, because yammering on the phone while driving puts me at risk of serious injury that you would have to help pay for.
  • Washington County's HealthBangor Daily News, 10/6/08. A new report presents a shockingly dismal picture of the health conditions in Washington County.
  • McCain loses debate on health careLisa M. Letourneau, Portland Press Herald, 10/5/08. Those watching the first presidential debate may have differing opinions about who "won" or "lost" this latest round between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain.
  • People should veto law at issue with Question 1Portland Press Herald, 10/5/08. The pending tax on soda, beer and wine that is the subject of Question 1 on the November ballot won’t cause businesses to fail or taxpayers to go bankrupt. For all the worries and claims about its potential impact, a few extra pennies on a can of soda or a bottle of beer is likely to amount to little more than an annoyance.
  • Debate surrounding Question 1 ramps upKennebec Journal, 10/4/08. The debate over Question 1 on the November ballot is heating up. Supporters are worried voters may be confused by the question and opponents will launch major campaign efforts Monday.
  • Mid Coast Hospital offers best hope for region's health care in the futureTimes Record, 10/3/08. The delivery of health care is a complex business. It is a highly regulated industry; regulated to protect us as consumers but also the payers: state and federal government, insurance companies, employers and others who share in paying health care costs. Health care providers at all levels are being challenged to deliver care at an affordable price.
  • Educare challenge grant good for area, stateMorning Sentinel, 10/1/08. We all want the best for our children. And the opportunity to give young children the best kind of education just landed in Waterville.
  • Take it outsideBangor Daily News, 10/1/08. Getting children to play outside doesn’t seem like the type of problem that needs a government solution. Given how few children routinely spend any time out of doors and the growing number of children who are obese, however, the government had no choice but to try to reverse the trends.
  • Health Care Cost QuestionsBangor Daily News, 9/30/08. A dispute between the hospital in Ellsworth and the state’s largest health insurance company is a symptom of a much larger problem. Without adequate information on what health care costs, insurers, lawmakers and others have no real idea whether medical care in Maine is too expensive.
  • Measuring the worth of health careBangor Daily News, 9/29/08. Maine Coast Memorial Hospital has chosen to take its contract dispute with Anthem Insurance public. In so doing the hospital clearly is hoping for public support for its position.
  • Referendum won't kill DirigoJohn Porter, Portland Press Herald, 9/28/08. But it will put the controversial health care program back to where it stood six months ago -- needing change.
  • Children: Invest EarlyBangor Daily News Staff, Bangor Daily News, 9/24/08. Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe says 20 percent of the lawyers who work in his office effectively spend their days working on child protection matters — trying to remove children from abusive, neglectful homes, or working to get parents back on track so they can keep their kids. It’s what he calls “remedial work,” essentially fixing problems that might have been avoided in the first place. If you consider that several other lawyers in his office spend their time prosecuting accused murderers, the cost of that “remedial work” looms even larger.
  • How are you going stay warm?Dr. Erik Steele, Bangor Daily News, 9/23/08. I often talk to my patients in the ER a little more than I need to, mostly because I like them. Sometimes I ask them what they do for work, or if they have kids. Sometimes I ask them how they are doing in school or at home. And sometimes it is a mistake to ask, and perhaps it was recently when I asked the third-generation Mainer in Room 2 if he was worried about paying for home heating oil and keeping warm this winter.
  • Soaring prescription drug prices hurt everyoneLeigh Donaldson, Portland Press Herald, 9/22/08. Average American consumers today are focused on high gasoline prices, keeping a roof over their heads and holding on to their jobs.
  • MaineGeneral solution right for central MaineKennebec Journal, 9/21/08. It's official. MaineGeneral hopes to build a new hospital by 2014 next to the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care in Augusta. The new hospital, if approved by the state, will serve patients who must be admitted for overnight stays or longer.
  • Proposing a meaningful response to hospital's woesKatherine Cassidy, Bangor Daily News, 9/18/08. In the 1981 movie “Absence of Malice” a frightened young woman whose secret has been exposed by an aggressive reporter tiptoes up the sidewalks of residential Miami in the early morning, gathering freshly delivered newspapers from the doorsteps in a desperate effort to put the stopper back in the bottle. Eric Russell’s Sept. 8 article on the Down East Community Hospital in Machias reminded me of that scene.
  • Walkers everywhere, sure, but assisted living has its perksKennebec Journal, 9/18/08. My mother was moving into an assisted-living facility and wanted me to spend the weekend with her.
  • Why ban birth announcements?Douglas Rooks, Times Record, 9/18/08. Having written often about hospitals lately — particularly about construction plans, certificates of needs and budgets — I can attest that these once quiet community institutions have become a whole lot like regular businesses.
  • Dentists fear rule would scare patientsBill Nemitz, Portland Press Herald, 9/14/08. It was, like many press releases, too good to be true. "Maine Citizens Ask: Must I Really Strip and Shave for My Dentist?" blared the headline over the release that had reporters' and editors' jaws dropping all over Maine last week.
  • Hospital flap to test state plansSun Journal Staff, Sun Journal, 9/11/08. In Brunswick, Mid Coast Hospital and Central Maine Healthcare, which oversees Parkview Hospital, are clashing over which can provide the community's medical needs more efficiently.
  • Remember: Children need access to health careElinor Goldberg and Richard Lucas, Bangor Daily News, 9/11/08. With so many issues facing us in a heated presidential campaign, including worries about the economy, the Iraq war, the housing markets and taxes, access to health care for children is one issue that’s at risk of being forgotten.
  • State monitors area's hospital duelDouglas Rooks, Times Record, 9/11/08. Speeches at academic assemblies are usually long on predictable sentiments, short on new ideas. But there are exceptions.
  • Hey, dude: Where did my salary and benefits go?Portland Press Herald, 9/10/08. All jobs are good, but really good jobs are much, much better – and Maine needs many more of them.
  • Solid science backs anti-hot dog TV spotSusan Levin, Bangor Daily News, 9/9/08. It’s one of the more hard-hitting attack ads on television, even by the standards of this bruising political season. But this commercial isn’t going after John McCain or Barack Obama.
  • Police, jails aren't mental health specialistsPortland Press Herald, 9/7/08. The investigations by the Attorney General's Office and the South Portland Police Department into the most recent use of deadly force in that community have yet to be resolved.
  • Is keeping newborns' names secret a necessary move?Portland Press Herald, 9/5/08. Is our culture more dangerous than it used to be? Overall crime rates rose in the 1980s and 1990s, but have declined since 2000.
  • Dr. John C. Frachella: Wanted: pediatric dentist to treat poor kidsDr. John C. Frachella, Bangor Daily News, 9/4/08. Maine dentists do more free work than most people will ever know.
  • Jamie Comstock: Wherever you live and breathe, always go smoke-freeBangor Daily News, 9/1/08. Every day in Maine, seven people die from tobacco use, one of whom is a nonsmoker who has been exposed to secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals and more than 50 cancer-causing agents. There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Even brief exposure can be dangerous.
  • No more smoking when kids in carsJoanne Joy, Kennebec Journal, 8/31/08. On Monday, Maine will take one more step in protecting its citizens from secondhand smoke.
  • Question 1 is deeper than beverage taxesSun Journal, 8/31/08. The campaign "Fed Up With Taxes" has premiered its first television ad, which features a convenience store owner from Richmond displaying his coolers of soda and criticizing higher taxes on such a "large part of his business."
  • Shift at agency doesn't change AIDS threatPortland Press Herald, 8/28/08. It's easy to spot good news in the announcement that Peabody House is closing, but that news can lead to deceiving conclusions about the toll of AIDS and HIV in this country.
  • The Addict Next DoorBangor Daily News, 8/28/08. When someone decides he or she finally wants to be free from the death-grip hold of substance addiction, there are — thankfully — places for them to turn in the community. Many of these support systems — Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and various counseling groups — were established decades ago.
  • George A. Hill: George Bush and womens healthBangor Daily News, 8/27/08. Last Thursday, George W. Bush’s administration shrugged off any pretense of restraint and launched a transparent attack on women’s health by proposing regulations that would allow health care organizations and individual health care providers who receive federal funding to refuse to provide information about abortion.
  • Physicians' GuideBangor Daily News Staff, Bangor Daily News, 8/25/08. Retired Bangor surgeon's stories aim to revive the personal contact between doctor and patient.
  • Weighing excellence, equity in health careJonathan Henry, Kennebec Journal, 8/25/08. Some days, I'd like to forget the last 12 months of my life. In August 2007, at 44, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. After research and second and third opinions, I was successfully treated in Bangor via robotically assisted surgery. Thanks to an excellent surgeon-urologist, I am blessed to be cancer-free (and, yes, prostate-free as well).
  • ALS sufferers can be helped by a federal registry now stuck in CongressLee Urban, Portland Press Herald, 8/21/08. A bill to create a listing that could coordinate data is necessary to make any progress towards a cure.
  • Melissa Day: After an addiction's visibility, comes quiet recoveryMelissa Day, Bangor Daily News, 8/21/08. I'm not invisible. You can see me. There is no degree of separation between us; I am right beside you. You pass me on the street everyday. I'm under your nose, in plain sight. I'm the quiet neighbor who always has a cheerful greeting, or the woman working out next to you in the gym.
  • A multifaceted planTrish Riley, Director, Governor's Office of Health Policy & Finance, Times Record, 8/20/08. To the editor: Dirigo Health spurs intense debate among your readers.
    In addition to being an insurance program, Dirigo Health includes broad reforms to make coverage more affordable for all Mainers.
  • Dirigo's not a cure, but it helpsBill Keleher, Times Record, 8/15/08. After reading Janet Begert's local commentary ("Dirigo Health should be audited," Aug. 6), I felt compelled to give a very real story of a "fictional" biotech business owner's experience with health insurance in Maine.
  • Emergency department task force needs consumer representationHilary Schneider, Portland Press Herald, 8/14/08. Without ordinary Mainers on the panel, any results or recommendations will inevitably miss the mark.
  • Bangor Physician Offers Fatherly AdviceMPBN, 8/12/08. Bangor's Dr. Erik Steele comes from a long line of physicians, and that tradition has carried on to the next generation.
  • Erik Steele: Saying sayonara to jerks with medical degreesDr. Erik Steele, Bangor Daily News, 8/12/08. In the good old days, women were women, men were men, and it was OK for a physician to be a total jerk in the hospital as long as he or she was very talented.
  • Bacteria, our friendBangor Daily News Staff, Bangor Daily News, 8/11/08. Forget what Mom said about cleanliness being next to godliness. A little dirt, and the bacteria that’s in it, is actually critical to human health.
  • Karen Hover: How our health care system failed JaneKaren Hover, MD, Bangor Daily News, 8/11/08. As a family doctor, I am reminded daily that American health care is broken. A local administrative assistant, "Jane," was working on her roof on a Wednesday afternoon when she fell. X-rays showed two elbow fractures. She was put in splints that immobilized her arms from the armpits to the fingers. She went home at midnight in the care of a friend with instructions to call her doctor in the morning for home services.
  • UNE students head to Ghana for health-care clinicJustin Ellis, Portland Press Herald, 8/11/08. According to the CIA Factbook, a notably fun read on par with Harper's and Highlights for Children, the degree of risk for contracting a major infectious disease in Ghana is "very high."
  • History isn't with DirigoPaul Mills, Sun Journal, 8/10/08. Beverage tax opponents did something nobody in Maine has for more than 50 years: suspend a tax approved by the Legislature before it could take effect.
  • Both sides misleading public on beverage tax-Dirigo Health issueKennebec Journal, 8/7/08. In November, Maine voters will decide whether to veto a package of taxes passed to fund Dirigo Health, Maine's subsidized health insurance program.
  • Teen drinking should never be toleratedPortland Press Herald Staff, Portland Press Herald, 8/6/08. Portland school officials deserve credit for taking swift and decisive action regarding assistant coaches who allegedly participated in a Deering High School baseball team party at which alcohol was consumed by minors.
  • Ban on fast-food joints not the way to fight obesity problemsPortland Press Herald Staff, Portland Press Herald, 8/4/08. Consumer education is what will make a difference in this public health crisis.
  • If tax repeal approved, we would all payJames Tasse & Joan Ingram, Portland Press Herald, 8/2/08. Without higher levies, consumption of products that cause public health problems would keep rising.
  • A hypothetical family illustrates real-world value of DirigoDenise Anne Tepler, Times Record, 8/1/08. The lack of affordable health insurance and health care is a national crisis.
  • And to think, all I needed was a new methodologyJim Bouchard, Times Record, 8/1/08. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! I finally understand! The Dirigo Health board's recent report that the program saved Mainers about $160 million in health care costs last year has enlightened me.
  • Dirigo savings claims exceed credibilityDana Connors & Katherine Pelletreau, Portland Press Herald, 8/1/08. Flaws in the program's funding process could drive up the amount other Mainers pay to subsidize it.
  • Jonathan McKane: Repealing soda taxes won't kill DirigoJonathan McKane, Bangor Daily News, 8/1/08. Supporters of the new Dirigo taxes on soda, beer, wine and health care services have gone on the offensive. In an attempt to frighten and manipulate Maine voters, they have resorted to outrageous claims of dire consequences to Dirigo and our entire health care system should the new Dirigo taxes be repealed in November by a people’s veto.
  • Tomalley TroubleBDN Staff, Bangor Daily News, 8/1/08. With warnings about tomatoes and then jalapeno peppers tainted with salmonella, food safety has been a concern this summer. So it is not surprising that a federal warning against eating lobster tomalley quickly led to fears about the crustaceans, resulting in a short-lived ban on lobster shipments to Japan.
  • Pat LaMarche: Can't get no health care satisfactionPat LaMarche, Bangor Daily News, 7/30/08. A Fox News anchor said Saturday that if Mick Jagger was from the United States he’d finally qualify for Medicare.
  • When possible, families should decide on end of lifePortland Press Herald Staff, Portland Press Herald, 7/29/08. Unlike with Terri Schiavo, the case of a California woman offers a clear path.
  • Maine Web site busts myths on personal drinking habitsMeredith Goad, Kennebec Journal, 7/28/08. Ask a spouse or friend if downing a third martini during happy hour is a good idea, and you can probably guess what they'll answer.
  • Time to stop guessing on causes of hospital overusePortland Press Herald, 7/27/08. A new study should get to the bottom of Mainers' high use of emergency rooms.
  • Domestic violence remains right target for policePortland Press Herald Staff, Portland Press Herald, 7/25/08. Despite significant advances, it remains the top public safety threat in Maine.
  • Health clinic helps; too bad it's neededBill Nemitz, Portland Press Herald, 7/25/08. t's probably the most often-asked question in health care: Do you have insurance? First-time callers to the Leavitt's Mill Health Center hear it like everyone else. But this place, shoehorned into a few square feet alongside a self-storage company on Route 201, is different.
  • Department problems not vast or terminalMorning Sentinel Staff, Morning Sentinel, 7/24/08. It would be tempting at first glance to see a recent report on millions of dollars of unjustified payments and weak cash management by the Department of Health and Human Services as an indictment of the department, or an indication that huge amounts of taxpayer money are being squandered.
  • Prescription discounts ease juggling actMeredith Goad, Portland Press Herald, 7/23/08. If you're trying to figure out how to pay for medication, there are programs that can help.
  • The next question on DirigoSun Journal Staff, Sun Journal, 7/23/08. There are 90,000 reasons why DirigoHealth is going to referendum this November - each name on a petition to repeal tax increases enacted this year to fund the subsidized health insurance program.
  • Judy East: Solutions from within Washington CountyJudy East, Bangor Daily News, 7/21/08. Readers of recent troubling news about higher mortality rates among women in Washington County should be encouraged by the response of Dr. Dora Anne Mills, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, to the question, "Can things turn around in Washington County?"
  • Past wrongs toward black physicians finally being addressedLeigh Donaldson, Portland Press Herald, 7/21/08. In the 1949 film "Lost Boundaries," a light-skinned, straight-haired and keen-featured African-American family consisting of a doctor, his wife and their teenage children moves into a generic New England town.
  • Veto override doesn't settle big debate over MedicarePortland Press Herald Staff, Portland Press Herald, 7/18/08. The recently concluded battle between President Bush and Congress over Medicare has largely been framed as a disagreement over payments to doctors. But the subplot to this override of Bush's veto runs deeper and remains unresolved.
  • Maine weighs in on obesity problemsAndrea Boland, Portland Press Herald, 7/17/08. A multifaceted program to address this serious health concern is beginning to take shape.
  • New laws improve access to dental health careState Rep. Pat Jones, D-Mount Vernon, Kennebec Journal, 7/16/08. Oral health care is an important part of maintaining good overall health. Public health programs like community fluoridation, tooth sealant programs given at schools and good nutrition are our first line of defense.
  • Book a valuable resource for those with aging parentsDavid B. Offer, Kennebec Journal, 7/15/08. My mother in Seattle and my mother-in-law in Milwaukee both are 89 years old. Both live independently; they care well for themselves. Considering their age, they are healthy. Neither drives; they rely on friends or relatives for transportation.
  • Contracting audit begs wider reviewSun Journal Staff, Sun Journal, 7/15/08. A review of contracting practices within the Department of Health and Human Services has revealed opportunities for cost savings, and should spur further audits of one of Maine's most expensive government agencies.
  • Erik Steele: Individual responsibility not enoughDr. Erik Steele, Bangor Daily News, 7/15/08. Slightly more appealing to me than being the team physician for Victoria's Secret underwear models is the idea that we can solve America's obesity problem by all of us simply being more responsible about personal health.
  • Skin cancer risk makes tanning a bad bargainPortland Press Herald Staff, Portland Press Herald, 7/15/08. What might look good this summer could have serious long-term effects on your health.
  • Statins are not the answer for childhood diseasesPortland Press Herald Staff, Portland Press Herald, 7/14/08. Treatment should focus on diet and exercise, not cholesterol-lowering drugs.
  • Beverage tax repeal a sideshowJohn Porter, Portland Press Herald, 7/13/08. Striking down this law wouldn't do much to advance the cause of lowering Maine's tax burden.
  • ANOTHER VIEW: Cholesterol drugs for kids carry risks that can't be knownRichard Maurer, Portland Press Herald, 7/11/08. Exercise, stress modification, social behavior and diet would seem better areas of focus.
  • Symptoms and TreatmentsBangor Daily News Staff, Bangor Daily News, 7/11/08. The grim news that Washington County residents are more likely to live shorter, less healthy lives than their Maine and national counterparts is a symptom of an underlying problem: persistent poverty.
  • DirigoChoice: A Costly FailureEllsworth American Staff, Ellsworth American, 7/10/08. For some time, there have been those in state politics who take great delight in the notion that Maine can lead the country in attempting to find solutions to particular issues. From the time he was inaugurated as Governor, John Baldacci identified his Dirigo Health program — and the DirigoChoice insurance program in particular — as a cornerstone of his administration.
  • Red Tide CautionBangor Daily News Staff, Bangor Daily News, 7/10/08. With this year’s red tide outbreak predicted to be worse than 2005’s historic levels, shellfish consumers should be reassured that the state’s testing system keeps tainted mussels and clams off the market.
  • W. Tom Sawyer: Beverage tax shows career politicians are out of touchW. Tom Sawyer, Bangor Daily News, 7/10/08. Senate Democratic leader Libby Mitchell’s June 27 column, "Benefit of beverage tax? Health coverage," defending a $70 million tax increase to fund Dirigo Health demonstrates how out-of-touch career politicians truly are.
  • Treating cancer with competence, compassion and laughterBill Nemitz, Portland Press Herald, 7/9/08. Few places conjure up a more depressing image than a cancer treatment center. Yet in reality, few medical settings are more uplifting than the Maine Center for Cancer Medicine and Blood Disorders in Scarborough.
  • Anne L. Head: Addressing abuse, exploitation of seniorsAnne L. Head, Bangor Daily News, 7/7/08. Responding to Gov. John Baldacci’s call for state government to actively address the needs of Maine’s expanding older population, the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation is stepping up its consumer protection efforts aimed at seniors.
  • Flip-Flop FindingsBangor Daily News Staff, Bangor Daily News, 7/7/08. Universities and colleges do research every day that leads to improvements in our lives. But occasionally there are studies that result in nothing more than a collective shrug, often because their results are so obvious. Here are a couple recent examples.
  • Competing messages in a bottleDouglas Rooks, The Times Record, 7/3/08. As the people's veto campaign against the "Dirigo taxes" unfolds, it seems like watching a train wreck in slow motion.
  • Competition will fix health careScott Simmonds, Portland Press Herald, 7/3/08. Imagine a grocery store giving food away to the poor and charging you triple. That's our hospitals.
  • The DHHS Strikes AgainEllsworth American Staff, Ellsworth American, 7/3/08. Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services has once again put the screws to the state’s human service agencies. Last week, the DHHS notified providers that it would delay processing and paying about $39.6 million in Medicaid claims for a week in order to improve its own budget picture. By delaying the payments, the department could avoid a deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30 and tap into the new fiscal year budget beginning July 1.
  • Dr. Erik Steele: Apply (strong) pressure to heal health care woesDr. Erik Steele, Bangor Daily News, 7/1/08. I have waited for a lot of things to explode in my lifetime - spray paint cans in a bonfire, cow pies with firecrackers in them, and my wife when I have lit her very long fuse one too many times, just to name a few. The thing I am still waiting to explode is the American public over the issue of rising health care costs.
  • Building Better Parents Reduces Child AbuseEllsworth American, 6/26/08. As sheriff, I was encouraged to see so many events across Maine recently focused on child abuse and neglect prevention, and it is heartening to see community members come together to send the message that child abuse will not be tolerated.
  • Medical Dollars and SenseEditorial Staff, Bangor Daily News, 6/21/08. A state panel’s recommended denial of a major addition to Eastern Maine Medical Center highlights a disconnect between the state’s health plan, which focuses on reducing health care costs, primarily through preventive measures, and the medical reality that as small rural hospitals shrink regional hospitals such as EMMC must grow.
  • Tom Allen: Time to fix health care crisisTom Allen, Bangor Daily News, 6/21/08. When I visit the Main streets of our towns and cities, I constantly hear that the skyrocketing costs of health care are holding Maine’s small businesses back.
  • Aspen Dental's plans good news for AugustaEditorial Staff, Kennebec Journal, 6/19/08. The Aspen Dental chain is bringing a much-needed expansion of dental care to the central Maine region with plans to open an Augusta office later this year.
  • Ailing health system: Feed it or heal it?Thomas Dahlborg, Portland Press Herald, 6/18/08. If patients and providers don't ask the right questions, they won't get the right answers.
  • Newell Augur: Maine residents fed up with undemocratic taxesBangor Daily News, 6/17/08. Maine families are struggling financially. We already have one of the highest tax burdens in the country. Gasoline and heating oil prices are out of sight. Costs of milk, bread and many other basic necessities are rising so fast, it is hard to keep up.
  • For-profit health care isn't workingChristopher T. Bartlett, Portland Press Herald, 6/11/08. The problem isn't the wealthy or the poor, it's the working families that can't get coverage.
  • Sister Mary Norberta: St. Joseph Healthcare joining Covenant HealthBDN Staff, Bangor Daily News, 6/11/08. Since 1947 the Felician Sisters from Enfield, Conn. have sponsored St. Joseph Healthcare, which includes St. Joseph Hospital underneath its umbrella of services. The Felician Sisters were placed at St. Joseph Hospital to continue the works of the order’s foundress, Blessed Mother Mary Angela.
  • Two reforms put health plans on trackCharlie Summers, Portland Press Herald, 6/6/08. These are ways to make insurance more affordable and available while saving on taxes.
  • Mainers should be proud of their hospitalsVincent S. Conti, Portland Press Herald, 6/3/08. The key to good medical care is good people, and those are present in abundance.
  • Tax hike is about life and death, not beer and sodaDr. Erik Steele, Bangor Daily News, 6/3/08. In the next six weeks you are not going to be able to kick a pile of moose poop in Maine without some of it hitting a person on the street asking if you are fed up with high taxes.
  • Business and HealthEditorial Staff, Bangor Daily News, 6/2/08. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has plunged into a growing national debate over health care reform.
  • For the dying, less can be moreCarol Mithers, Bangor Daily News, 5/29/08. Dying, a friend told me a while back, when I said that several elderly relatives were deteriorating and I didn’t think they would last, "can take a very long time."
  • Maine needs farm bill's food aidNicole Witherbee, Bangor Daily News, 5/29/08. Many people have criticized the reauthorization of the farm bill last week because of its obscure and unfair farm subsidies.
  • Medicare cuts put future of seniors' health at riskEdward Langston, Bangor Daily News, 5/28/08. On July 1, the government health insurance program for seniors and the disabled will automatically begin draconian payment cuts to physicians.
  • What Australia can teach us about health careKaren Hover, Bangor Daily News, 5/28/08. As Americans, we are taught to think that a free market is good because it keeps prices low. In health care, however, free market forces breed complexity, and complexity is costly.
  • New health-care tool likely to help control costsEditorial staff, Kennebec Journal, 5/27/08. Ask anyone who understands anything about the nation's health-care crisis, and they'll tell you that controlling ever-rising medical costs is a huge part of the solution.
  • Med-Care debate more than buildingsEditorial Staff, Sun Journal, 5/26/08. Debate in the River Valley over whether the 11 towns who support - and benefit from - Med-Care Ambulance Service should renew the service for another 10 years seems hung on the wrong issues.
  • Medicare cuts put future of seniors' health at riskEdward Langston, Bangor Daily News, 5/26/08. On July 1, the government health insurance program for seniors and the disabled will automatically begin draconian payment cuts to physicians.
  • My brother BobChellie Pingree, Bangor Daily News, 5/23/08. I remember the day nearly 20 years ago when the phone rang as we were getting ready to head off on a family trip.
  • Alfond fund a helpful start on big expenseKay Rand, Kennebec Journal, 5/22/08. My soon-to-be-born grandchild, Jack or Ellie (we don't yet know if it's a boy or a girl), will be one of Harold Alfond's 2008 babies.
  • More data, not less, can combat patient confusionEditorial Staff, Portland Press Herald, 5/22/08. There may be as many ways to rate hospitals and doctors as there are patients.
  • My brother BobChellie Pingree, Bangor Daily News, 5/22/08. In the last 20 years, we’ve talked a lot about fixing our health care system and making health care affordable and available to everyone.  The trouble is, each year more — not fewer — people find themselves unable to obtain or afford insurance.
  • Maine Trauma SystemKevin McGinnis of Hallowell, Kennebec Journal, 5/21/08. This week is recognized nationally as Emergency Medical Services Week.
  • Preventing summer idiocyErik Steele, D.O., Bangor Daily News, 5/20/08. You may have a list of things you want to do this summer, but as an emergency physician, I have a list of things I want you all not to do.
  • Boys & Girls Clubs safe sites that turn out confident, loved youthEditorial Staff, Morning Sentinel, 5/15/08. Confident, humble, determined, polite -- these are a few of the words his admirers use to describe Gary Fearon, the 2008 winner of the Maine Youth of the Year competition.
  • Genetic testing: Is it necessary?H. Gilbert Welch and Wylie Burke, Bangor Daily News, 5/15/08. The company 23andMe promises to "unlock the secrets of your own DNA." Navigenics wants you to be tested to "do everything you can to stay healthy." And deCODEme hopes that genetic testing will "prompt people to do the right thing."
  • Maine’s Health Insurance CrisisRichard Malaby, The Ellsworth American, 5/15/08. Health care costs in Maine are out of control: our state ranks second highest in the nation in per capita health care spending. One big reason for this is the cost of health insurance.
  • Tax funding health care beneficial in long runAnne Harper, Bangor Daily News, 5/15/08. I read that a group has formed to try to rescind the recently passed tax increase that will help fund the state’s Dirigo health program. The same day, I filled out my renewal forms for my own participation in Dirigo.
  • Dirigo funding plan widely misreportedSean Faircloth and Phil Bartlett, Portland Press Herald, 5/14/08. Much media attention has surrounded legislation funding Dirigo Health and health-care market reforms.
  • A health care bargainEditorial staff, Bangor Daily News, 5/13/08. An ambitious universal health plan pending in Congress has just received a green light from congressional budget and tax analysts.
  • Teen drinking is not a rite of passageMark Publicker, M.D, Portland Press Herald, 5/13/08. Science has shown the lifelong damage that can be incurred from underage consumption.
  • A Genetic VictoryEditorial Staff, Bangor Daily News, 5/12/08. Genetic testing can tell whether a person is at risk of developing cancer, heart disease or other ailments. In the future, it may be able to prevent diseases from developing or even cure them. But many Americans refuse the tests for fear that insurers or employers will use the information against them.
  • Idea a novel way for mentally ill to stay out of jailEditorial Staff, Morning Sentinel, 5/12/08. Kennebec County's Co-Occurring Disorders Court is a good thing -- but it's unfortunate that we need it.
  • Policy should not try to stigmatize smokersEditorial Staff, Portland Press Herald, 5/12/08. Ordinances should protect nonsmokers, not protect smokers from themselves.
  • AmeriCorps a part of your communityCarolAnne Dube, Bangor Daily News, 5/10/08. Everywhere you go across the state there is evidence of AmeriCorps’ effect on our communities.
  • An opportunity to invest in child care for MainersJessica Bickford, Bangor Daily News, 5/9/08. Young children in Maine, especially from birth to age 5, deserve the best care we can give them to succeed in this world. Yet, as a child care provider I see on a daily basis the struggles working families face. There is a tremendous need for affordable, quality child care and early education.
  • Dirigo: Fix it up or shut it downTom Dunne, Portland Press Herald, 5/9/08. The state-sponsored health care plan was well-launched, but it can't stay afloat as it is.
  • Adding to smoking's stigma shouldn't guide public policyEditorial Staff, Portland Press Herald, 5/7/08. As a legal product, the standard for regulating tobacco use should be harm to others.
  • Heck, no, they won't glow, say students at Wells High SchoolEditorial Staff, Portland Press Herald, 5/7/08. The school picked up $1,000 for getting most students to pledge to go tanless to the prom.
  • It takes a villageEditorial Staff, Kennebec Journal, 5/7/08. College student drinking isn't just a college problem. It's a community problem.
  • Consider medical tourism a warningBangor Daily News, 5/6/08. As a health care executive, the recent news that Hannaford supermarkets is encouraging employees to have knee and hip replacement surgeries done in Singapore because the procedures cost much less there than in America has me wanting to dance a vengeful Watusi barefoot through their salad bars.
  • Plan for improving state's economy would workRon Bancroft, Portland Press Herald, 5/6/08. Trouble is, the Brookings Report told us what we had to do, but nobody has the political will to do it.
  • Call the G-men for DirigoKarl Trautman, Sun Journal, 5/4/08. Maine's landmark health program, Dirigo Health is approaching its fifth birthday. It's time for a checkup: how is it doing? As with all things political, it depends on whom you ask.
  • Prescription for SavingsEditorial Staff, Bangor Daily News, 5/3/08. A recent report found that health care spending in Maine is well above the national average with worse than average results.
  • Dirigo Life SupportEditorial Staff, The Ellsworth American, 5/1/08. Maine’s Dirigo Health program has survived for another year, but the promise of Governor John Baldacci and many legislators not to raise taxes did not.
  • Having insurance doesn't guarantee people get health care they needWassim Mazraany, Portland Press Herald, 5/1/08. Critics of government-provided medicine haven't produced any acceptable alternatives.
  • Opening a look, inside ourselvesEditorial Staff, Sun Journal, 5/1/08. It's deplorable to think (and worse to accept) that health insurance is stymieing perhaps the most groundbreaking scientific achievement of this century: understanding the human genome.
  • Midwives' bill is necessary and appropriate Representative Nancy E. Smith, Kennebec Journal, 4/29/08. During the 123rd Legislative session, I was actively involved in shepherding dozens of bills through the legislative process. I voted on literally hundreds more.
  • Americans over-medicated for life's common ailmentsLeigh Donaldson, Portland Press Herald, 4/28/08. Too many people not suffering from genuine depression are receiving powerful drugs.
  • Genetic tests shouldn't be misused for discriminationEditorial Staff, Portland Press Herald, 4/28/08. Their value as a diagnostic tool would be greatly impaired if people feared to take them.
  • It's time to reform medical insuranceMatthew Arnett, Bangor Daily News, 4/28/08. About a month ago BDN columnist Dr. Erik Steele said it was about time we find ways to cut medical costs.
  • Beverage tax increase for Dirigo targets unhealthy behaviorsGordon Smith, Kennebec Journal, 4/25/08. As a member of the 2006 Blue Ribbon Commission on Dirigo Health representing Maine's physicians, the Kennebec Journal editorial of April 17, titled, "Democrats slip in tax increases with night vote," was of great interest to me.
  • Lay midwives should not give medicationsEditorial Staff, Kennebec Journal, 4/25/08. New law gives potentially dangerous drugs to minimally trained home-birth helpers.
  • Medicaid and MirrorsEditorial Staff, Bangor Daily News, 4/25/08. It has long been clear that the Bush administration didn’t have logic on its side as it tried to limit states’ flexibility in extending health insurance to moderate-income children. Now, it turns out, it didn’t have the law on its side either.
  • 911 consolidation naysayers' fear being borne out: Emergency calls must be handled quicklyKennebec Journal, 4/24/08. Five minutes and 36 seconds is too long.
  • Amended midwives' law watered-down, dangerousMiki Macdonald, FNP, Morning Sentinel, 4/23/08. LD 2253, An Act To Provide Access to Certain Medications to Certified Midwives, as amended by the Legislature, was just signed by Gov. John Baldacci. The new law allows persons who hold no license to practice a health-care profession to prescribe and administer prescription drugs and other substances.
  • Lawmakers had session that was largely effectiveEditorial Staff, Morning Sentinel, 4/23/08. 2 less-than- admirable moves: Dirigo bailout, minor ethics reform
  • Unum CEO pay gets a second lookEdward D. Murphy, Portland Press Herald, 4/22/08. The numbers may not be as eye-popping as those for managers of big hedge funds, but Tom Watjen is still doing OK by most standards.
  • Selfless youths can inspire others to do goodMorning Sentinel, 4/21/08. No one knows exactly where the spark comes from. But the urge to do good, to do unto others as you would have them do unto you, vibrates not deeply enough in many of our bones.
  • Thanks to all who support drug court programRichard C. Dimond, Bangor Daily News, 4/21/08. On March 31, the Legislature enacted, and the governor signed, the state’s supplemental budget through June 30, 2009.
  • Drug courts give Maine teens needed chance for renewalAnna Marie Klein-Christie, Portland Press Herald, 4/20/08. The state's nationally lauded program reduces criminal behavior and further substance abuse.
  • Finding health-care consensus difficult even for MitchellPortland Press Herald, 4/18/08. Creating workable reforms will be a challenge; bridging the political divide will be harder.
  • Lack of dental insurance creates familiar pressuresJonathan Shenkin, Bangor Daily News, 4/18/08. The call for increased access to dental care in the United States and Maine has escalated over the last 10 years.
  • State puts beer-makers over a barrelEditorial Staff, Sun Journal, 4/18/08. In a hasty turn, the Maine Legislature and Gov. John Baldacci fluidly enacted legislation Tuesday that raises state tariffs on certain beers, wines and syrupy beverages to fund the subsidized health insurance program DirigoChoice.
  • Democrats slip in tax increases with night voteEditorial Staff, Morning Sentinel, 4/17/08. This is hard to swallow. If lawmakers had held public hearings about raising taxes on beer, wine, soda, flavored water and even health insurance transactions in order to help pay for the Dirigo Health insurance program, they would have gotten a mouthful from Maine consumers tired of being taxed too much. But they didn't.
  • Fighting child abuseAnne Jordan and Patrick Fleming, Bangor Daily News, 4/17/08. Child abuse and neglect are serious and growing problems in Maine. In the past two years, the number of shaken-baby cases at Maine Medical Center alone has tripled.
  • Best idea for Augusta: No new taxes on beer and wine - or anything elseSteve Dimillo and Jeff Kane, Portland Press Herald, 4/16/08. State lawmakers and special-interest groups in Augusta want to reach into our pockets yet again.
  • Maine cannot further burden its taxpayersScott Solman and Pat Wheeler, Bangor Daily News, 4/16/08. Benjamin Franklin once said, "No man's life, liberty or fortune is safe while our legislature is in session."
  • Raise a glass to Dirigo?Editorial Staff, Bangor Daily News, 4/16/08. In addition to extending health insurance to many of those unable to afford it, Dirigo Health aimed to find savings in the state’s health care system and use those savings to pay for the program.
  • Tax on drinking doesn't raise appeal of Dirigo funding ideaPortland Press Herald, 4/16/08. Lawmakers should find a way to pay for the health-care initiative from within the system.
  • Dirigo reforms make system more viableRepresentative Charlie Priest, Times Record, 4/15/08. Rep. Jonathan McKane's April 1 commentary, "Proposed Dirigo remedy's no cure," misrepresents the hard work and compromise that have gone on for more than a year to make insurance more affordable for those who buy it on their own and to assure continued coverage for more than 18,000 Mainers who now rely on DirigoChoice.
  • Real worry is Medicare, not Social SecurityJohn Buell, Bangor Daily News, 4/15/08. Recent conversations with friends sound a familiar theme. A college administrator asks me if he can count on Social Security upon his retirement. An electrician told me he has no realistic hope of retiring and that he worked as much overtime as he could. Social Security is going bankrupt and he can’t accumulate enough in his 401(k) to sustain any sort of retirement.
  • State woes don't necessarily need law to 'fix' themEditorial Staff, Morning Sentinel, 4/15/08. Lastly, do no harm.  That's our request to the members of the 123rd Legislature, as they frantically dash their way to the finish line.
  • Let's blow out those tobacco tax falsehoodsMegan Hannan and Stephanie Lash, Bangor Daily News, 4/12/08. In order to keep smokers smoking and get young people addicted, the tobacco industry and its supporters will say almost anything to avoid an increase in the tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products.
  • Chemical regulation: Pick your poisonBob Duchesne, Bangor Daily News, 4/11/08. Good public policy comes from a healthy debate, preferably founded on facts. Sen. Doug Smith ignores many facts while advising that Maine should go slow in regulating chemicals that could harm your child or kill you, "Chemical regulation a risky path" (BDN, April 1).
  • We can't tax or legislate smoking out of existenceEditorial Staff, Kennebec Journal, 4/10/08. In Augusta these days, the motto seems to be: "Don't tax you, don't tax me, tax that guy behind the tree." The guy behind the tree is a cigarette smoker.
  • A clearer view about tobacco taxesEditorial Staff, Sun Journal, 4/8/08. For a momentary delight, a cigarette has serious long-term effects on smokers, those around them, and the public.
  • Amalgam fillings a safe, viable optionBrad Rand and William Mouradian, Bangor Daily News, 4/8/08. Kathleen McGee's OpEd "Toxin alert: Don't forget dental fillings" (BDN, March 28) on amalgam dental fillings has serious factual errors and accusations that we, as dentists, cannot ignore.
  • A booster shot, and more, for health careElizabeth Mitchell, Portland Press Herald, 4/7/08. A bill before the Legislature would strengthen and extend the good results of Dirigo.
  • Keeping health insurance rates in checkRick Burns, Portland Press Herald, 4/6/08. As Anthem reaps big profits, it asks for its customers in Maine to risk more for the medical care they need.
  • Smoking is bad; people who smoke aren'tKennebec Journal, 4/6/08. Let us now, if not praise, at least offer some sympathy to Maine smokers.
  • Cigarette tax mathEditorial Staff, Bangor Daily News, 4/5/08. Regardless of what the future holds for the state's Dirigo Health plan, a proposal to raise the tax on cigarettes - whether to bolster Dirigo or any other health-related endeavor - has little downside when compared to the positive potential to further dampen the scourge that is tobacco addiction.
  • Dirigo bill to help more Mainers get insuranceGov. John Baldacci, Bangor Daily News, 4/5/08. In challenging economic times like these, more Maine families and businesses struggle to afford health coverage. LD 2247, An Act to Continue Maine’s Leadership in Covering the Uninsured, sponsored by Rep. Hannah Pingree, provides an important opportunity to bring health security to more Mainers, reaffirming Dirigo’s goal of universal access to health care.
  • Dirigo Health experiment well-intentioned failureTarren Bragdon, Bangor Daily News, 4/3/08. Let’s face it: Gov. John Baldacci’s Dirigo Health plan, a state-funded program that was supposed to provide subsidized health coverage to some 128,000 Maine people without insurance, is a costly failure.
  • Patient ratings are good, but should not be the only dataEditorial Staff, Portland Press Herald, 4/3/08. Consumers should consider other patients' outcomes as well as their comfort.
  • Well-fed kids will learn: Legislature expands school breakfastEditorial Staff, Kennebec Journal, 4/3/08. Faced with a budget crisis that had to be resolved this week by cutting $170 million in state spending, lawmakers nevertheless did something extraordinary: They passed an expansion of the free school breakfast program.
  • After the budgetEditorial Staff, Bangor Daily News, 4/2/08. By passing a budget with a mix of cuts and cost savings, and without substantial tax increases or withdrawals from the state's Rainy Day fund, lawmakers filled a $190 million gap between state revenues and spending.
  • Budget's fixed, but what about the next one?Editorial Staff, Kennebec Journal, 4/2/08. The Senate chamber was packed Monday night as lawmakers edged toward a final vote on a plan to plug an almost $200 million hole in the state budget.
  • State budget may not be pretty, but should workEditorial Staff, Portland Press Herald, 4/2/08. No one ran for the Legislature to do what was just accomplished this week in Augusta.
  • No pain for LegislatorsEditorial Staff, Babgor Daily News, 3/31/08. As the Legislature completed the dirty but necessary job of cutting state spending to close a $190 million revenue gap, a refrain heard at the State House — especially when $65 million was cut from the Department of Health and Human Services — was that legislators should feel some of the pain that will be endured by the poor, disabled and elderly.
  • Budget crunch should not target health careMaineCoastNow.com, 3/28/08. The letter from the former chairman of the Pen Bay Health Board of Trustees is right on the mark about the ill-advised cuts in reimbursement for certain doctors as proposed by the state.
  • Harvey PickerEditorial staff, Bangor Daily News, 3/28/08. Although you may never have heard his name, Harvey Picker, who died March 22 at his home in Camden at the age of 92, was well-known there and in scientific circles throughout the United States and the rest of the world.
  • Health care in MaineRepresentative David Miramant, Village Soup, 3/28/08. Some of the problems with the health-care industry and its costs are confusing, some are not.
  • Medicaid growth contained, helps needySenator Joseph Brannigan, Portland Press Herald, 3/28/08. The debate around Maine's Medicaid program is marred by incomplete, misleading and inaccurate information.
  • Playing with ToxinsEditorial Staff, Bangor Daily News, 3/27/08. Few would dispute that Americans now live in a toxic soup, with synthetic chemicals falling from the sky, leaching into drinking water, injected or absorbed in food, and emanating from materials in our homes and offices.
  • As cancer treatment costs rise, so do the ethical challengesEditorial Staff, Portland Press Herald, 3/26/08. The rising cost of cancer treatment has raised ethical issues that may yet grow worse.
  • Legislators do well to soften Baldacci's cutsEditorial staff, Kennebec Journal, 3/26/08. The members of the Legislature's Appropriations Committee are to be commended for wrestling the state's budget shortfall into submission.
  • Maine Medicaid program far more generous than almost all othersTarren Bragdon, Portland Press Herald, 3/25/08. Maine's excessively lenient income threshold for Medicaid benefits continue to stretch this critical medical safety net once reserved for the neediest and most vulnerable Mainers.
  • Wasting blood and moneyErik Steele, DO, Bangor Daily News, 3/25/08. Transfused blood would be the right ink with which to write the story of modern medical care, because that blood is the perfect metaphor for what ails that medical care.
  • Without layoffs, fewer state employees would save $200MTarren Bragdon, Kennebec Journal, 3/25/08. Maine does indeed need a "steadfast commitment to fiscal conservatism and a new approach" if it is ever to turn around its economy and create a brighter future.
  • Anti-hunger movement just too niceMorning Sentinel, 3/24/08. Imagine that the nation's food banks all closed their doors.
  • Legislature should work for a bipartisan budgetPress Herald, 3/24/08. Lawmakers are close to filling a $190 million revenue shortfall without raising taxes.
  • Pingree bill listing hazards in toys worthwhileSr. Jackie Moreau, Portland Press Herald, 3/23/08. Saying that the state shouldn't monitor these threats to children is a mistake.
  • Weathering the fiscal crisisRep. Richard Wagner, Sun Journal, 3/23/08. When I entered the Maine Legislature last year representing Lewiston, I knew I would face important and difficult issues. But I am still amazed at the long-term impact our decisions will undoubtedly have throughout Maine for years to come.
  • N.Y. governor is an inspiration to those with disabilitiesLynne Williams, Bangor Daily News, 3/22/08. My father died three years ago and I miss him. And today I miss him even more and wish he were still alive to see David Paterson sworn in as the new governor of New York. Paterson is not only the first black governor of New York, but also the first legally blind chief executive in U.S. government.
  • ANOTHER VIEW: Don't make state employees scapegoats for budget shortfallKathleen Kadi, Portland Press Herald, 3/21/08. Maine's workers have been struggling to do more with less for a long time now.
  • Maine ill-served by play-it-safe budget rhetoricEditorial Staff, Kennebec Journal, 3/21/08. We expected more. Republican members of the Health and Human Services Committee promised they would offer ideas for state spending cuts in light of the state's projected, $190 million -- and growing -- budget deficit. After all, spending on education and health and human services accounts for 80 percent of the state budget. This was the right place to go.
  • Budget cuts threaten physician accessSteven R. Michaud, The Forecaster, 3/20/08. When private physicians start closing their practices to MaineCare patients, as they are doing with alarming frequency, it’s the local hospital that steps into the breach.
  • On a mission for safe waterJohn Peckenham, Bangor Daily News, 3/20/08. The recent news coverage of pharmaceuticals in drinking water, "What’s in your water" (BDN, March 11), has caused many people to wonder what is in their drinking water.
  • Cutting the budget means making choices But lawmakers find that very hard to doGeorge Smith, Kennebec Journal, 3/19/08. Every one of us wants to continue helping the most needy among us, and everyone knows ways the government could save money and fill the budget gap without raising taxes.
  • Paid sick days a workplace standard for allSarah Standiford, Bangor Daily News, 3/19/08. The flu is now widespread throughout Maine.
  • Boulevard of broken budgetsEditorial staff, Sun Journal, 3/18/08. The Associated Press examined the budgets of all 50 states and found the same revenue shortfall, sky-is-falling scenario is occurring coast-to-coast.
  • Closing Maine's budget shortfallJohn Buell, Bangor Daily News, 3/18/08. Legislators in Augusta face a daunting challenge in closing a nearly $200 million budget shortfall.
  • Dirigo's futureEditorial staff, Bangor Daily News, 3/18/08. The idea of using savings to increase access to health insurance was a cornerstone of the state’s Dirigo Health program, so it is unfortunate to see this linkage abandoned.
  • Raising tobacco tax makes senseMark Ishkanian and Ed Miller, Kennebec Journal, 3/18/08. The growing budget deficit, coupled with a need to find a more secure funding source for the Dirigo Health Initiative and the drive to keep Maine youth from taking up smoking, present the Maine Legislature with a unique opportunity at a time of tough choices. We are talking about increasing the state tobacco tax.
  • Mental health spending cuts senselessEd Pontius and Carol Caruthers, Portland Press Herald, 3/17/08. The state's most vulnerable citizens need protection, not more exposure to harm.
  • Budget visionsEditorial Staff, 3/15/08. The same day that advocates for social service programs packed the State House to protest proposed cuts to services for the mentally ill, disabled and others, a conservative think tank offered its own blueprint for cutting more than $200 million from the state budget.
  • Editorial: Birds, bees and STDsBangor Daily News, 3/15/08. Even more disturbing than the report that one in four teenage girls in the United States has sexually transmitted diseases is that only about half the girls acknowledged having sex. The findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are yet another indication that the emphasis on abstinence rather than honest talk about sexual activity and its consequences is failing.
  • Medicaid program invests in our community healthSandra Butler, Bangor Daily News, 3/15/08. The state government needs to make some difficult choices this year because of a deficit resulting from lower-than-expected revenues. The cuts proposed by the governor to balance the budget fall on some of the state’s most vulnerable individuals. I do not believe that the serious harm that would result from these cuts is acceptable to most Maine residents.
  • Don't cut aid to our neighborsKen Rozeboom, Bangor Daily News, 3/13/08. We are Mainers. The best part of us lends a hand even when we need a hand ourselves.
  • It's time to get real about health care costsErik Steele, DO, Bangor Daily News, 3/11/08. The problem for every canine that ever chased a car was what to do when he caught it.
  • 'Average' Medicaid not enough for MainersRep. David Webster, Portland Press Herald, 3/10/08. The needs and demands on the program here require spending beyond what other states provide.
  • State budget cuts are painful, but necessaryPortland Press Herald, 3/9/08. Even worthy programs like the Maine community colleges have to participate.
  • Cutting services to elders has moral, money costsShawn Lewin, Bangor Daily News, 3/6/08. "Of course you’re depressed, you’re old!" is a common misperception that right now has tangible and detrimental consequences in light of the potential budget cuts for the provision of mental health services to elders.
  • Hope and Charity need our faith in hard timesThomas J. Gaffney, Bangor Daily News, 3/4/08. In these difficult economic times, I know the good people of Maine care deeply about those living with us who are unable to care for themselves.
  • Policy goals make case for ER workEditorial Staff, Sun Journal, 3/4/08. Despite concerns about efficiency and missed collaborative opportunities, emergency room expansions at St. Mary's and Central Maine Medical Center might be unavoidable, if other stated health care goals are to be achieved.
  • Unsafe roads demand higher priorityRalph Sarty, Portland Press Herald, 3/4/08. Too much state spending has shifted to Medicaid, at the expense of needs like roads and bridges.
  • Put some meat into food regulationsChristopher D. Cook, Bangor Daily News, 3/3/08. Nauseating as it was, last week’s record-setting beef recall and the apparent feeding of meat from crippled "downer" cattle to our nation’s children and others should come as little surprise.
  • Why does Rick Batt stand alone?Sun Journal, 3/2/08. In a guest column published on Feb. 24, the president of Franklin Memorial Hospital spared little wrath for state government and its policies regarding MaineCare reimbursements.
  • Budget should balance without tax increasePortland Press Herald, 3/1/08. Maine should take a hard look at what it would take to make state government smaller.

© Batt & Trunnell
This web site provides links to many external sites for information purposes only. We are not responsible for the content of these external sites, nor does it necessarily agree with the views and opinions expressed on them. The information provided on the Maine Health Forum is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between an individual and his or her physician. If you have any problems, questions, or comments, please contact us.