1 month ago

New study finds Maine patients with private insurance pay nearly 3x what Medicare patients would pay

A new study on hospital prices from the RAND corporation finds that patients with private insurance in Maine pay nearly three times what Medicare would pay for the same service.

1 month ago

Doctors quit EMMC as changes leave less time with patients, push morale to ‘all-time low’

At least eight doctors are resigning from Bangor’s Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center amid a push by the hospital to reduce their ranks, cut their benefits and have fewer doctors work each day, forcing those on duty to see more patients in a shift.

2 months ago

Protecting brown ash trees and tribal heritage

Brown ash trees, also known as black ash, are critically endangered throughout the state of Maine.

2 months ago

Mainers can now vote online for the state bicentennial flag design

The state is seeking public input on three proposed designs for the flag that will commemorate Maine’s bicentennial.

2 months ago

Fire consumes Penobscot McCrum office building in Belfast

A fire that broke out Thursday night spared the Penobscot McCrum potato-processing plant in Belfast, but completely destroyed an office building used by the company, according to fire officials.

2 months ago

Fox terrorizes 2 Maine homes, biting woman and dogs before being killed with shovel

A Bowdoinham woman was bitten by a fox Tuesday evening shortly before the fox found its way into a neighboring house and was killed by a resident.

2 months ago

Don’t know which birds you spotted at Katahdin Woods & Waters? There’s now a list for that.

Birders and other visitors to Maine’s newest national monument will receive a valuable tool Saturday as Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters releases a checklist of more than 150 birds that can be found in the monument.

2 months ago

Maine CDC says hepatitis continues to rise in the state

Public health authorities in Maine said the state’s sharp rise in hepatitis cases is continuing.

2 months ago

Pilot program to offer more traditional cheering activity during fall sports season

Back when sideline cheering at high school football and basketball games around Maine was the rage during the 1980s, Denise Gelinas of Biddeford helped introduce a separate, more competitive side of that activity full of tumbling, jumps, stunts, pyramids and dance.

2 months ago

Fewer flu vaccinations, mental health care shortage test Maine’s response to health crises

Maine’s ability to respond to a natural disaster, disease outbreak or other health emergency has improved in the past few years and is now about average for the U.S.

2 months ago

Blue Hill and Ellsworth prove hot spots for bear damage this spring

The first sign was the suet holders, set out to feed woodpeckers, that had been pulled from the trees. Then the bird feeders got crushed.

2 months ago

Why some students and educators aren’t happy with how Maine dumped an online learning program

The administration of Gov. Janet Mills recently said it will end a small program that provides free, universal access to online Advanced Placement classes particularly valuable for high school students who want to attend out-of-state colleges.

2 months ago

Maine is losing farms and farmland, but hope is not lost for agriculture

In recent years, Maine’s so-called farming renaissance has been vaunted as both a hopeful spot in the state’s economy and a magnet that is drawing some young people back to the land.

2 months ago

Feds: Maine’s economic growth slowed substantially in 4th quarter of 2018

Maine’s economic growth slowed markedly in the 4th quarter of 2018. According to the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, Maine’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at a rate of just 0.7 percent during the final three months of last year.

2 months ago

A bed sheet developed at UMaine could change how doctors detect Alzheimer’s

The strangest part of Activas Diagnostics’ office space located in the UpStart Center for Entrepreneurship in Orono is the twin bed in the middle of the room.

2 months ago

DOT delays paving work in Brewer as construction costs shoot past estimates

A mile-long stretch of Route 15 in South Brewer stretching south from Interstate 395 to the Orrington town line is one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares.

2 months ago

State urges Mainers to get tested as cases of gonorrhea and syphilis skyrocket

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is calling on residents to get tested for sexually transmitted infections amid a spike in cases of gonorrhea and syphilis in the state.

2 months ago

What ‘Medicare for all’ could mean for Maine hospitals

A version of the “Medicare for all” bill championed by Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, several of his rivals for the nomination and the two Democrats in Maine’s congressional delegation is getting its first committee hearing on Tuesday.