Maine Press Coverage

• September 07, 2010 | from The Portland Press Herald Maine Voices: Banning BPA a wise decision for Maine Maine's Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) is currently considering a proposal under this law to name bisphenol-A (BPA) as Maine's first Priority Chemical under the 2008 Kid-Safe Products Act, and ban its use in reusable food and beverage containers.
• September 07, 2010 | from NECN.com Maine has highest child hunger rate in New England Maine is facing problems with child hunger. The problem is worse there than in any other New England state. A recent report from Feeding America says more than 21% of children in Maine are experience "food insecurity."
• August 20, 2010 | from The Kennebec Journal Mothers speak out against controversial chemical AUGUSTA -- Cheryl Denis of Portland is worried about the health of her two young girls.
• July 29, 2010 | from seacoastonline.com Working to ban dangerous chemicals Last year in this column, I predicted that the next toxic chemical to be banned in Maine's marketplace under our landmark law would be Bisphenal A, or BPA.
• July 27, 2010 | from Morning Sentinel Maine slips in ranking for well-being of state's children Maine dropped two slots to 14th place with more children living in poverty and single-parent homes and more young people dropping out of high school.
• July 02, 2010 | from Maine Public Broadcasting Network Study: Childhood Obesity Will Cost Maine Employers a Bundle Mainers, according to researchers, are getting fatter. Close to 150 people in health care, business and public policy convened in Auburn today to weigh in on childhood obesity and its lasting effects. The Hanley Center for Health Leadership, which sponsored the forum, released new data.
• June 30, 2010 | from Bangor Daily News Senators, Maine families need you now Without the FMAP extension, Maine faces a budget shortfall of at least $85 million, forcing the governor and Legislature to come up with additional cuts to a state budget that already has been cut 13 percent below spending levels of two years ago.
• June 29, 2010 | from York County Journal Tribune Maine’s edge in health care reform Expanding access to quality and affordable health care was and will continue to be a top priority of Democratic lawmakers in the state legislature.
• June 28, 2010 | from Safer States Maine looking to ban BPA in childrens' products The banning of BPA as the first priority chemical in Maine will be an excellent first step, and health advocates in the state are looking for even more protection.
• June 28, 2010 | from Lewiston Sun Journal Time for senators to support Maine children Maine's two centrist senators, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, can play a decisive role in moving federal legislation to provide relief to the states. They have the best voting record on children's issues among all GOP senators.
• June 16, 2010 | from Bangor Daily News Maine predicts cost savings with new health reform law A state analysis of the impact of the new federal health reform law indicates it will cost Maine in the near term, but will save the state tens of millions of dollars a year after it is fully implemented in 2014.
• June 16, 2010 | from Dentistry iQ New law allows dental coverage regardless of age Legislators in Maine passed a measure that would permit parents to add their children to their dental insurance.
• June 07, 2010 | from Foster's Daily Democrat Fighting child obesity: Programs helping kids, families eat healthy A recent study through the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found about 32 percent of children are obese or overweight, putting them at risk for serious diseases and medical conditions like diabetes.
• June 03, 2010 | from Dentistry iQ Maine enacts oral health legislation for children Legislation to ensure Maine's youngest children have access to early preventive dental care has been signed by Maine Governor John Baldacci.
• June 03, 2010 | from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Meeting Infants’ Needs Down East “A county at the end of the earth.” That’s how Marjorie F. Withers, LCPC, describes Washington County, Maine, a region the size of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined but with fewer than 32,000 inhabitants.
• June 03, 2010 | from Congresswoman Chellie Pingree Strengthening children's nutrition starts at school Congresswoman Chellie Pingree brought together a diverse group of child nutrition experts, teachers, parents and a top Obama Administration official in Buxton to discuss child nutrition, obesity and school lunch programs.
• June 02, 2010 | from United States Department of Agriculture USDA Joins Congresswoman Chellie Pingree in Maine to Highlight Efforts to Improve School Meals and Health of Nation's Children USDA Under Secretary Kevin Concannon joined Congresswoman Chellie Pingree to discuss the Obama Administration's priorities for improving school meals and the health of children across the nation with participants at a Children's Nutrition Forum.
• May 20, 2010 | from Bangor Daily news Study: Harmful additives found in canned food Environmental health advocates in Maine released a new national study earlier this week showing that canned foods and beverages absorb potentially dangerous amounts of bisphenol A, or BPA, from the cans' epoxy lining.
• May 14, 2010 | from The Maine Public Broadcasting Network Maine Activists Call for Ban on Chemical in Kids' Products Environmental health advocates in Maine say bisphenol-A poses a health threat to infants and children.
• May 14, 2010 | from The Portland Press Herald New state law clears way for all children to be vaccinated Maine's vaccination rate for children has been slipping, raising the risk of outbreaks of preventable diseases such as whooping cough and measles. But pediatricians say a new state law to provide vaccines at no cost will reverse that trend and make young Mainers among the nation's best-protected once again.
• April 09, 2010 | from WCSH6.com Conference held on curbing youth obesity in Maine WE CAN! -- Ways to Enhance Children's Activity and Nutrition -- is a program developed by the National Institutes of Health to help children maintain a healthy lifestyle.
• April 05, 2010 | from Bangor Daily News Maine enacts childhood vaccination bill Legislation aimed at lowering the cost of immunizations for Maine children has been signed into law by Gov. John Baldacci.
• April 03, 2010 | from Bangor Daily News Battling childhood obesity in Maine About 60 children between the ages of 4 and 19 are pioneering the new WOW program - the Way to Optimal Weight - at the University of Maine.
• April 01, 2010 | from Bangor Daily News Kids and Poverty According to the Kids Count data book, nearly 22 percent of Maine children under the age of 5 were living in poverty in 2008, up from 19.4 percent in 2007.
• March 30, 2010 | from The Portland Press Herald KIDS Count finds poverty, smoking temper good news More Maine children are living in poverty, and more are smoking. At the same time, fewer are facing arrest, more are exercising daily and more have places to go for primary medical care.
• February 26, 2010 | from MPBN News Maine Gets Federal Grant to Improve Health Care for Kids Maine is getting more than $11 million federal dollars over five years to help improve health care for children enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.
• February 24, 2010 | from Bangor Daily News State sues to defend federal Medicaid claims Maine's Department of Health and Human Services has asked a federal court to overturn a decision of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that disallows close to $30 million in federal case management funds for children in Maine's Medicaid program, called MaineCare.
• January 12, 2010 | from Bangor Daily News Mental health agencies to protest budget cut plan The state Department of Health and Human Services has proposed an across-the-board cut of 10 percent in MaineCare, the state's Medicaid program. Of that amount, $6 million would come from mental health services for adults and children.
• January 05, 2010 | from Bangor Daily News Baldacci aide named to US health panel Trish Riley, director of the Governor's Office of Health Policy and Finance and principal architect of the state's Dirigo Health Reform program, has been named to a new federal panel charged with guiding policy in the Medicaid program and the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.
• September 29, 2009 | from Kennebec Journal Morning Sentinel Census: Maine's food stamp percentage ranks 2nd in U.S. Maine had the nation's second-highest percentage of households receiving food stamp benefits during 2008, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
• August 11, 2009 | from Bangor Daily News Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems program aims to curb child obesity Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems has teamed up with area schools, day care centers, community agencies, municipalities and other groups to promote healthful lifestyles.
• July 06, 2009 | from Kaiser Health News Maine Fights For Senators' Votes, Grassley Can't Satisfy Either Side Senators home for the Fourth of July recess found activists on each side of the health care debate waiting for them. The two Republicans senators from Maine were among those targeted, The New York Times reports.
• June 27, 2009 | from Bangor Daily News Advocates rally in Bangor for public option in health care Uncle Sam was on life support in Pickering Square Saturday morning, a tangle of I.V. tubes draining dollar bills into his veins. The life-sized dummy in a hospital bed formed the backdrop for a rally of about 40 people who turned out in support of establishing a national public health coverage plan to compete with private insurance companies.
• June 27, 2009 | from Bangor Daily News Maine leaders weigh in on health care bills As Congress attempts to transform the nation's health care system, the support of Maine's U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe is critical.
• June 26, 2009 | from WCSH6.com Researchers Say Kids Need More Excercise Physical education experts at the University of Maine say the state's new anti-obesity laws, which the governor signed last week, are a step in the right direction.
• June 26, 2009 | from The Maine Public Broadcasting Network Sebelius says 9 Percent of Mainers Lack Health Insurance U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says 9 percent of people in Maine lack health insurance, and 75 percent of them are in families with at least one full-time worker.
• June 24, 2009 | from Bangor Daily News Health crisis squeezing Mainers; Health care advocates call for public option A study released on Monday underscores what most Mainers already know: health care and health insurance are increasingly unaffordable for an ever-growing number of people.
• June 22, 2009 | from Associated Press Maine marks new anti-obesity measures Even as state lawmakers produced a leaner budget this year, they are still looking to trim some fat -- this time from Maine's waistlines.
• June 18, 2009 | from The Maine Public Broadcasting Network Baldacci Signs Anti-Obesity Bills Gov. John Baldacci today ceremonially signed three bills aimed at fighting the problem of obesity in Maine.
• June 09, 2009 | from Kennebec Journal Early care crucial in limiting dental costs Dental providers and representatives from the Maine Dental Association and the Maine Dental Access Coalition testified at hearings recently to plead their case for a bill that proposes a modest increase in MaineCare rates for certain critical dental services.
• May 18, 2009 | from Kennebec Journal Morning Sentinel What happens to children in wake of budget cuts? Children's residential treatment services caring for Maine's children struggling with mental illness, autism and other disorders are slated to take at least a 30 percent cut in funding. These children won't thrive and survive if precipitously discharged from residential treatment because there's a budget hole to fill.
• April 05, 2009 | from Foster's Daily Democrat Maine bill would require insurers to cover autism On Monday, State Sen. Peter Bowman, D-Kittery, filed L.D. 1198 that, if passed, would require private health insurance companies to cover the screening, diagnosis, testing and treatment of autism spectrum disorder for people up to age 21.
• March 30, 2009 | from The Kennebec Journal Stimulus money to help improve dental services More children will receive dental care for the first time thanks to an infusion of economic-stimulus money that is headed to HealthReach Community Health Centers.
• February 23, 2009 | from The Times Record Leading the way to healthier families On Feb. 10, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law. It will help prevent millions of children from falling into poverty and can put Maine's economy on the road to recovery by creating new jobs and helping families who are now unemployed.
• February 09, 2009 | from The Kennebec Journal Investing in kids' health helps reduce crime, violence Investments in children's health insurance are critical to our nation's public safety. So I want to thank Maine's congressional delegation for their support of expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
• January 16, 2009 | from The Associated Press Maine group cites health-care demand A consumers' group says its survey of nearly 200 Maine small businesses shows support for a public health-care plan and greater government oversight over health insurance.
• December 17, 2008 | from WMTW.com Children's Health, Education Campaign Kicks Off The Maine Children's Alliance joins in the launch of a national campaign aimed at building support for stepped-up spending on programs to improve the health, education and well-being of America's kids.
• September 11, 2008 | from Bango Daily News Remember:Children need access to health care
• March 04, 2007 | from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram Health funds not on Bush's menu Bush's speeches Monday -- one to every governor and another to just Republican governors -- didn't mention SCHIP.
• March 04, 2007 | from Kennebec Journal Morning Sentinel Op-Ed Investing in Maine's future by caring for our children Ensuring that children have health care coverage saves taxpayer dollars by promoting cost-effective health care and reducing expensive trips to the emergency room.
• March 04, 2007 | from Sun Journal Op-Ed Keep the sails full for SCHIP As Congress moves forward with SCHIP reauthorization, I am committed to seeing that this essential program has the necessary funding needed so that the progress we have made during the past 10 years will continue into the future.