Maine news and information

Patients in western and southern Maine will lose access to local doctors and hospitals under a “backroom deal” between MaineHealth and the state's largest health insurer, according to an executive at another health system excluded from the arrangement.
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A public official in a small town in Maine claims there are links between the high costs of an electronic health records system and the decision to close tiny St. Andrews Hospital and Healthcare Center in nearby Boothbay Harbor. That may not be the case.
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Republican Gov. Paul LePage is accusing Democratic legislators of reneging on their promise to repay a $484 million debt to Maine's hospitals, but a Democratic leader says the majority party has no intention of backing away from its commitment.
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Three Maine independent physician practices—OA-Centers for Orthopaedics, Central Maine Orthopaedics and Spectrum Medical Group—have signed a letter of intent to explore merging their practices.
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An effort in Maine to kill the state's certificate-of-need law has the support of Gov. Paul LePage and others who say the free market is a better regulator than the government when it comes to deciding how many healthcare facilities can be built.
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Six states were awarded nearly $300 million by HHS to implement payment and delivery changes to their Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program plans.
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Providence Health & Services will have another physician as its president and CEO, as officials have promoted Dr. Rod Hochman to lead the 29-hospital Catholic healthcare system.
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Hospital readmission rates among Medicare patients held stubbornly steady from 2008 to 2010, despite increasing federal attention and attempts by providers to address the issue.
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Influenza-related hospitalizations of the elderly rose last week and were well above hospitalization rates seen during the same week of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, according to a weekly flu report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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PORTLAND, Maine—Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems signed a definitive agreement to acquire Mercy Hospital, a 168-bed hospital in Portland, that is part of Catholic Health East. As part of the deal, EMHS will acquire Mercy and its service units, including VNA Home Health & Hospice in...
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