HEALTH CARE ACA enrollments down 30 percent over last year Tarun Vaswani talks with Libby Cummings of Portland Community Health Center about signing up for ACA health coverage at the Portland Public Library in March. Early indicators show that Affordable Care Act enrollment for 2019 is down significantly in Maine compared with 2018. Staff photo by John Patriquin Early indicators show that Affordable Care Act enrollment for 2019 is down significantly in Maine compared with 2018, when sign-ups in the state led the nation in terms of a percent increase from the previous year. The change is a sign that the move by congressional Republicans in late 2017 to eliminate the federal income tax penalty for those without health insurance could be contributing to the decline in new sign-ups. According to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, net enrollment in ACA-compliant individual health insurance plans in Maine totaled 13,669 sign-ups from Nov. 1 through Nov. 17, a … [Read more...] about Week in review: Scarborough Downs development wins tax break
Economist year in review
Week in review: Saco Island plan on hold; low-income Bay Staters to benefit from CMP project
HEALTH CARE Rumford hospital votes no confidence in owner’s CEOLess than a week after Bridgton Hospital medical staff passed a no confidence vote in Central Maine Healthcare CEO Jeff Brickman, Rumford Hospital medical staff have voted no confidence as well. Staff members who were at the meeting but asked to remain anonymous said about 15 to 20 people participated in the vote Tuesday night. A few abstained. The rest voted no confidence. Rumford and Bridgton hospitals are part of nonprofit CMHC, which also owns Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston and a collection of medical practices in 15 communities. Tuesday’s meeting means staff at two of CMHC’s three hospitals have now voted no confidence, a symbolic move meant to convey unhappiness to the CMHC board. CMMC staff members in Lewiston have said they plan to hold their own vote, possibly this week. Read the story. Maine Med is buying nearby pizzeria for future possibilities Maine Medical Center is buying the … [Read more...] about Week in review: Saco Island plan on hold; low-income Bay Staters to benefit from CMP project
Journal Record Week in Review for the week ending July 6, 2018
SandRidge broadens buyer search SandRidge Energy Inc. is broadening and extending its search for a buyer. The company announced on June 29 it has dozens of potential buyers and the company’s bank is seeking more, including some outside the U.S., outlining a few details about what’s already been proposed. Wheat harvest only half of average This summer’s wheat harvest looks nothing like last year’s crop, industry representatives said. Projections for Oklahoma’s overall wheat production have been adjusted to 52 million bushels this summer, compared to 99 million last year – just half of the state’s five-year average. In 2014, which was the worst wheat crop since 1957, farmers saw 47 million. Optimism reigns in manufacturing survey Manufacturers in the central U.S. remain worried about the threat of tariffs to their business, according to the latest survey by the Federal Reserve Bank’s Kansas City Branch. But respondents said they are … [Read more...] about Journal Record Week in Review for the week ending July 6, 2018
MERRY CHRISTMAS! Bill Clinton to campaign for Rahm – GOP will challenge Obama’s cloistered style — The first ‘(Giggle)’ in a White House transcript
EXCLUSIVE: Former President Bill Clinton has agreed to endorse and campaign with Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel, who served in his White House from 1993-1998, ultimately as senior adviser to the president for policy and strategy. In January; date TBD. Clinton has been focused on the William J. Clinton Foundation since Nov. 2, so this’ll be his first political appearance of the new cycle. Expect to hear about Rahm’s role in passing the COPS initiative, which added 100,000 cops to the streets and helped drop crime rates to a 26-year low. This dream team — marrying WJC’s charm and Rahm’s doggedness — will help popularize the POLITICO view that when Emanuel qualified for the ballot, he all but became the next mayor of Second City. Election is Feb. 22, with a possible runoff April 5. MARGARET CARLSON is surprised on-air on MSNBC by her granddaughter, 6-year-old Anna Carlson Yarkin, daughter of David and Courtney. Margaret explains: … [Read more...] about MERRY CHRISTMAS! Bill Clinton to campaign for Rahm – GOP will challenge Obama’s cloistered style — The first ‘(Giggle)’ in a White House transcript
180 days to Election Day! – GETTING TRUMP: Household incomes fell over past 15 years in four-fifths of U.S. metro areas – TRUMP-RYAN summit today – SOSNIK’s crystal ball — B’DAY: Paul Begala
By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; [email protected]) and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; [email protected]) Story Continued Below Good Thursday morning. It’s 67 days to Cleveland, 74 days to Philly, 180 days to election. SCOOP DU JOUR – “Biden wanted Warren as his VP: The Massachusetts senator was ‘noncommittal,’ but warned of a backlash against his pro-Wall Street votes in Senate,” by Glenn Thrush and Annie Karni: “Joe Biden took months to decide he wouldn’t run for president — but he was sold on Elizabeth Warren as his running mate from the start ... And he still thinks the Massachusetts firebrand would be Hillary Clinton’s best choice to replace him as the nation’s No. 2 in January 2017. ... Biden broached the idea, almost matter of factly, to Warren during a much-hyped lunch meeting at the vice president’s residence on the grounds of the Naval Observatory last September.” http://politi.co/1OkmesK --“Joe … [Read more...] about 180 days to Election Day! – GETTING TRUMP: Household incomes fell over past 15 years in four-fifths of U.S. metro areas – TRUMP-RYAN summit today – SOSNIK’s crystal ball — B’DAY: Paul Begala