Maine

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Canadians Pay Taxes For Universal Health Care, And Now They’re Richer Than Us

Philip Caper | Bangor Daily News | June 20, 2013

Canada’s tax-financed health care system covers everybody, gets better results, costs about two-thirds of what ours does and is far more popular than ours with both their public and their politicians. There is no opposition to it in the Canadian Parliament. What’s not to like about that? Oh yes, and the average Canadian is now wealthier than the average American. Their far more efficient and effective tax-based health care system is part of the reason.

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Every Person Deserves Access To Health Care

Julie Pease | Bangor Daily News | August 5, 2013

On the occasion of Medicare’s 47th birthday, we urge the immediate expansion of Medicare to everyone in the United States. We need a health care system that provides access to every one of us, no matter how sick, poor, old or unemployed we may be. We need reduced costs. We need improved health outcomes. Read More »

Inside Big Pharma's Fight to Block Recreational Marijuana

Alfonso Serrano | The Guardian | October 10, 2016

Marijuana legalization will unleash misery on Arizona, according to a wave of television ads that started rolling out across the state last month. Replete with ominous music, the advertisements feature lawmakers and teachers who paint a bleak future for Arizona’s children if voters approve Proposition 205, a measure that would allow people aged 21 and over to possess an ounce of pot and grow up to six plants for recreational use. “Colorado schools were promised millions in new revenues” when the state approved recreational pot use, says the voiceover in one ad. Instead, schoolchildren were plagued by “marijuana edibles that look like candy”...

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MaineHealth Facing Financial Debacle due to Proprietary EHR Install

The scenario: A sophisticated medical center health system begins to roll out an expensive proprietary EHR and shortly thereafter sustains an operating loss, leaving no choice but to put the implementation on hold. The operating loss is attributed to “unintended financial consequences” directly related to buying a very expensive EHR system. This is exactly the situation at MaineHealth, who selected Epic. Read More »

NASCIO Recognizes Outstanding Achievements in State IT: Finalists Announced for 2017 NASCIO State IT Recognition Awards

Press Release | National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) | August 3, 2017

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) has selected 32 finalists across 11 categories for the State IT Recognition Awards. This is the 29th consecutive year NASCIO has honored outstanding information technology achievements in state government through the awards. Projects and initiatives from NASCIO member states, territories, and the District of Columbia were eligible for nomination. NASCIO members served as volunteer judges to review the 100+ submissions, narrowing the nominees down to finalists in each category. From these finalists, a recipient will be announced during an awards dinner at the upcoming NASCIO Annual Conference this October in Austin, Texas...

Pilot Aims To Give Patients' Records Via HIE

Anthony Brino | Government Health IT | January 23, 2014

Maine may become the first state in the country to offer residents access to their personal health records via a health information exchange. Read More »

Secret Document Trove Reveals Bold ‘Crusade’ to Make OxyContin a Blockbuster

David Armstrong | STAT | September 22, 2016

The doughnut ploy, highlighted in a trove of internal documents obtained by STAT, shows the lengths to which Abbott went to hook in doctors and make OxyContin a billion-dollar blockbuster. The sales force bought takeout dinners for doctors and met them at bookstores to pay for their purchases. In memos, the sales team referred to the marketing of the drug as a “crusade,” and their boss called himself the “King of Pain.”

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What’s Next for Health Care? Confused Congress Should Look to Indian Country

Mark Trahant | Yes! Magazine | July 28, 2017

Senate Republicans campaigned against Obamacare for seven years. Yet there was never an alternative that had support from a majority of their own party. The problem is simple: Many (not all) Republicans see health care programs that help people—the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, etc.—as welfare. Others look at the evidence and see these programs that are effective: insuring people, creating jobs, supporting a rural economy, and actually resulting in better health outcomes. Evidence-based success stories...

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