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The
following links may be useful to those seeking more
information about health care in Maine and nationally.
They are divided into subjects. They are by no means
an exhaustive list of sites related to health care
advocacy. If you know of a site that you think should
be added to this list, please contact us.
CAHC
Coalition Members on the Web:
Alpha
One
Chase's
Home Furnishings, Inc.
Family
Planning Association
Kennebec
Valley Community Action Program
Maine
AFL-CIO
Maine
Center for Economic Policy
Maine
Chapter APTA
Maine
Council of Churches
Maine
Developmental Disabilities Council
Maine
Equal Justice Project
Maine
Psychological Association
Maine
State Nurses Association
National
Association of Social Workers/ME
Chapter
National
Multiple Sclerosis Society - Maine Chapter
Planned
Parenthood of Northern New England
Rand
Advertising
Roman
Catholic Diocese
Western
Maine Community Action
CAHC
Foundation Funders on the Web:
Jesse
B. Cox Charitable Trust
Nathan
Cummings Foundation
Open
Society Institute
Public
Welfare Foundation
Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation
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MaineCare
The Maine
Department of Human Services is responsible
for most of the public health programs in the state,
including MaineCare. From this site you can also access
the web sites of its five bureaus.
-
The Bureau
of Medical Services administers the MaineCare
program in Maine. Their web site contains useful
information for consumers and providers on the MaineCare
program.
- The
Bureau
of Family Independence is the agency
that determines eligibility for many government
assistance programs, including MaineCare. Their
section on Cub
Care includes a printable application.
The
Maine Equal Justice Project has a section
of their web site dedicated to health
care issues, including information on MaineCare.
Pine
Tree Legal Assistance has some excellent
information about MaineCare on their "Health
Care Issues" page.
Legal
Services for the Elderly has information
about MaineCare for the elderly on their web site.
Check out their information on Nursing
Home Medicaid and Estate
Recovery in Medicaid
Several Medicaid programs can help people on MaineCare
pay some of their health care costs, including MaineCare
premiums and deductibles. The Bureau
of Elder and Adult Services has an eligibility
calculator that can help you determine
if you might qualify for help.
The
Bureau of Family Independence posts the
MaineCare
Eligibility Manual
on its web site. This is the manual that DHS caseworkers
use to determine applicant's eligibility for MaineCare
and Cub Care. WARNING: These are administrative
rules and some sections may be confusing or even misleading
to a lay-person unfamiliar with MaineCare jargon.
Chapters of the Maine
MaineCare Assistance Manual are also online.
It contains all the rules that govern the administration
of the Maine MaineCare Program (except for eligibility
rules). In it you can find detailed explanations
of covered services as well as client rights and responsibilities.
WARNING: These are administrative rules and
some sections may be confusing or even misleading
to a lay-person unfamiliar with MaineCare jargon.
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Title
XIX of the Social Security Act can be read
in its entirety on the Social Security Administration's
web site. Title XIX contains most of the laws governing
the Medicaid program.
Check
out the Medicaid
section of The
Kaiser Family Foundation's web site.
The
Center for Budget and Policy Priorities
has released numerous publications
relating to Medicaid and health care in general.
The
Legal Information Institute at Cornell
Law School has a page focusing on Medicaid law.
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Children's
Health Care
Check out the Child
Health section of the Families
USA web site. Their links
section contains numerous resources for the child
health advocates.
The Children's
Defense Fund has information about Medicaid
and SCHIP coverage for children.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Covering
Kids website also has information related
to coverage for children. CAHC Foundation is part
of the Covering Kids campaign in Maine.
Read information about the State
Children's Health Insurance Program
from HCFA.
The American
Academy of Pediatrics
web site contains a wealth of information about
health care issues relating to kids.
Family
Voices speaks on behalf of children with
special health care needs.
Check out the National
Maternal and Child Health Clearinghouse
.
Children
NOW utilizes research and mass communication
to make the well-being of children a top priority
across the nation.
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Private
Health Insurance/Managed Care
The Maine
Bureau of Insurance web site contains useful
information about the laws and regulations governing
health insurance companies as well as information
on current issues in the health insurance market.
The
Maine Secretary of State's web site has a directory
of all the rules published
by the Bureau of Insurance. Individuals
rules can be downloaded from this page as Microsoft
Word documents.
Specific rules of interest to health care consumers:
-
Chapter
750 which standardizes health plans in
Maine by requiring them to offer certain benefits.
- Chapter
850 ("Health Plan Accountability") which
establishes a number of consumer protections against
unfair or harmful practices by HMOs and other insurers.
The
Maine State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)
provides information and assistance to elderly consumers.
It is a part of the Bureau
of Elder and Adult Services.
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Consumer
Health Resources
The
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- provides evidence-based information on health care
outcomes; quality; and cost, use, and access. Information
from AHRQ's research helps people make more informed
decisions and improve the quality of health care services.
The
Consumers Union Health Care page
provides research and information for consumers on
a number of important health care issues.
The
Health Consumer Alliance provides a directory
of information on health insurance and health care.
The
Health Research Group at Public
Citizen petitions and testifies before
Congress and federal agencies on such issues as the
banning or relabeling of drugs, improved safety standards
at worksites, and safer medical devices. Their books,
newsletters and other publications help consumers
make informed decisions about the health care services
they receive.
AbilityMaine.org
If you have a disability, or know someone who does,
this guide is for you. It contains information abou
the services most needed by people who have disabilities.
Visist us online for a more detailed version of the
guide.
Screwed
by insurance.com an open forum to find
the TRUTH about insurance and insurance companies
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Health
Law
The National
Health Law program provides a wealth of
information on health law issues for the consumer
and the advocate.
The National
Senior Citizen Law Center "advocates nationwide
to promote the independence and well-being of low-income
elderly individuals, as well as persons with disabilities,
with particular emphasis on women and racial and ethnic
minorities."
Health
Hippo is an extensive database of "policy
and regulatory materials related to health care."
St. Louis University School of Law's Center
for Health Law Studies maintains a directory
of health law sites on the world wide web.
The National
Center for Youth Law site contains information
about health law issues specific to children and families.
Check out their articles on Child
and Adolescent Health.
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Medicare
Resources:
The Official US
Government Site for Medicare Information
is an information-packed site maintained by the federal
government to provide information to Medicare beneficiaries.
.
The
Medicare Rights Center is a non-profit
organization based in New York. Their web site contains
much helpful information for Medicare beneficiaries
about their rights and choices in the Medicare program.
National
Council of Senior Citizens and the AARP
are just a few of the organizations working to protect
and expand Medicare for the benefit of senior citizens.
The Medicare
section of the Kaiser
Family Foundation web site has some helpful
information about the program's past and future.
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Elected
Officials in Maine
Governor
John Baldacci has his own web site with
information on how to contact his office. Let him
know what you think about health care!
The
Maine Legislature also has a web site that
includes lists of all legislators elected to the House
and Senate.
You may also use this site to look
up current bills of interest.
Members of Maine's Congressional delegation all have
web sites. Click on a member below to go to their
web page.
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:
House
Senate
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