Maine Democratic leaders pitch COVID-19 Patient Bill of Rights
Lawmakers hold a public hearing on L.D. 1, which would waive all copayments for testing and vaccinations.
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Top State House Democrats on Tuesday pitched their No. 1 legislative priority, a COVID-19 Patient Bill of Rights, that among other things would waive all copayments associated with testing and vaccinations.
The bill, co-sponsored by Senate President Troy Jackson and House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, also would strengthen access to telehealth options – including allowing audio-only appointments – and would permit providers to fill most prescriptions for up to 180 days.
“This bill is about making sure nothing prevents Mainers from getting the health care they need … to protect them from this dangerous virus,” Fecteau said during a public hearing before the Legislature’s Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services. “We cannot have costs be a barrier to testing and vaccination.”
Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter navigates pandemic times with supportive partnerships
Waterville s homeless shelter looks to improve on service as pandemic continues.
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WATERVILLE St. Patrick’s Day. March 17, 2020. It’s the day that everything changed at the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter.
The coronavirus pandemic had just taken its first foothold in central Maine, and Katie Spencer-White remembers that day’s happenings sharply. Emotions arose, from anxiety to fear and confusion.
“It was the day we literally evacuated half of our building,” said Spencer-White, the shelter’s executive director. “In those first panic-stricken days when we had no idea how fast the virus would spread or its severity, our staff was terrified.”
Maine DHHS sued by foster children, advocacy groups who allege improper treatment with psychotropic drugs
Seeking a class action suit, the plaintiffs say children as young as 5 are being harmed by the drugs, the Portland Press Herald reports.
Credit: Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer Author: Beth Brogan (NEWS CENTER Maine) Published: 12:45 PM EST January 7, 2021 Updated: 12:47 PM EST January 7, 2021
PORTLAND, Maine Children s rights advocates and attorneys representing six foster children filed suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court claiming the state is improperly medicating children in foster care with psychotropic drugs.
The suit names Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew and Todd Landry, director of the Office of Child and Family Services, as defendants, the Portland Press Herald reports.
Lawsuit faults Maine DHHS for use of powerful medications on foster children
The federal government raised concerns about the use of psychotropic medications on Maine foster children in 2018.
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Jack Woodcock is a lawyer who has filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the state of Maine alleging that children in foster care are being given psychotropic drugs without proper safeguards and oversight.
Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Children’s rights advocates have filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Maine on behalf of children in foster care who they allege are being given psychotropic drugs without proper safeguards and oversight.