It's open enrollment time for Maine's health insurance marketplace.

People without access to health or dental insurance through their employer, Medicare, or MaineCare are encouraged to renew or choose a new plan by December 15.

Rachel Collamore, consumer assistance program manager with Augusta-based Consumers for Affordable Health Care, said CoverME.gov offers a helpful, online plan comparison tool.

"It allows consumers to enter in their doctors, their hospitals, their prescriptions," said Collamore, "and use that to pick the plan that's going to give them essentially the best bang for their buck."

Collamore said it's important for people already enrolled in a plan to update any income changes that would impact their tax credits.

Eighty-five percent of Mainers enrolled in CoverME.gov qualify for help to pay for their health insurance, and save an average of $560 a month.

Former President Donald Trump's re-election could bring changes to the federal health care marketplace.

During the September presidential debate, he said he had "concepts of a plan" but offered few details.

Still, Collamore encouraged people to ensure they're covered for next year.

She added that Maine has already codified some health insurance protections into law, including safeguards for those with pre-existing conditions.

"I can't predict what's going to happen," said Collamore, "but I do know that for 2025 the plans are there, the tax credits are there, and people should go and look at plans and see if they can find one that works for them."

Collamore said anyone who misses the December deadline can still choose a plan by January 15 for coverage starting February 1.

She said deciding on a health care plan can be confusing, but there's help available.

Consumers for Affordable Health Care offers enrollment assistance online, in-person and through its help hotline, at 800-965-7476.

A newly installed rooftop solar power system will help the Free Clinic of Simi Valley keep its doors open and the lights on for the area's disadvantaged patients.

The Ventura County facility annually serves more than 10,000 uninsured or underinsured, low-income residents. Funding for the project was provided through a grant from the global nonprofit humanitarian aid organization Direct Relief.

Fred Bauermeister, executive director of the clinic, said being mostly "off the power grid" allows them to fund other priorities.

"Despite the fact that we got this building donated, we still have to pay $3,000 a month in electricity, which from a nonprofit point of view, is hard money to raise," Bauermeister, explained. "It's not very compelling when I go out in the community and say, 'Hey, would you give money so we can pay the electricity bill?'"

He pointed out the solar array, combined with soon-to-be-completed battery backup, will provide 53 kilowatts of power, enough to make the clinic officially net-zero in terms of carbon emissions.

The $165,000 grant from Direct Relief comes through the group's Power for Health Initiative, born amid the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

Sara Rossi, managing director of the group's Health Resiliency Fund, said health providers' biggest need was to get the power back on.

"That could include making them more resilient to the effects of climate change through rooftop solar and battery backups that help them weather power outages," Rossi outlined. "Or helping them increase their ability to store cold chain medications and vaccines."

Bauermeister added Direct Relief's solar power system is a gift to their patients that will keep on giving.

"They were generous enough to give us a grant to install 135 solar panels on our roof," Bauermeister noted. "So far, we saved $8,249.87 and that will go on forever. We're forever going to save money on electricity."

Nebraska was among the states affected by the recent E. coli outbreak traced to onions in McDonald's hamburgers. Federal officials said they are now certain about the source but broader questions about the overlap with beef production linger.

The outbreak caused at least one death and sickened dozens of people. This week, key federal agencies closed the investigation, which pinpointed onions from a Colorado farm, while also ruling out burger patties. Ahead of the conclusion, some food safety experts wondered more about bacteria in manure from factory farms, where livestock is raised, finding its way to produce operations.

Prashant Singh, associate professor of health, nutrition and food science at Florida State University, explained the problem with having the different farming operations so close to each other.

"Manure, sometimes, if not properly processed in large operations, can spill over into a fresh produce area," Singh pointed out.

More specifically, contaminated dust particles from waste at concentrated animal feeding operations can land on fields of lettuce, for example, or get into irrigation canals. Separately, a California carrot company last month launched a voluntary recall because of an E. coli outbreak. Environmental groups noted many carrots in California are grown near factory farms.

Singh emphasized meat production has accelerated under evolving technology, with regulations enforced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture but produce is monitored by the Food and Drug Administration and he said the resources are vastly different.

"On the FDA side, they lack everything," Singh observed. "Their hands are very full. "

Even with the resource imbalance, other food safety experts note the meat lobby has focused heavily on avoiding strict regulations under the USDA, and existing laws have limits. Meanwhile, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show there have been nine multistate foodborne illness outbreaks in 2024.

This story is based on original reporting by Nina Elkadi for Sentient.


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A new report found New York hospitals are in a precarious financial state.

The New York State Hospitals Fiscal Survey Report showed statewide hospitals are projecting an operating budget margin of 0.0% percent. While it is a slight improvement, hospital administrators said it is still insufficient for hospitals to handle patient care.

Bea Grause, president of the Healthcare Association of New York State, said government reimbursements do not cover the costs of administering health care.

"Those reimbursements are fixed and do not change," Grause pointed out. "They grow a little bit year over year but they're not keeping up with the expense growth that all hospitals are experiencing."

She noted hospitals cannot raise their commercial expenses with the expectation it will make up the difference, arguing the best way to help hospitals is to close the gap on Medicare and Medicaid payments so they keep up with expense growth. Prescription drugs are the largest continuously increasing expense hospitals face since such prices run 83% above the rate of inflation.

Staffing issues are being exacerbated by New York hospital's fiscal challenges. The report found labor expenses have grown more than 36% since 2019. While it is the second year of declining contract labor expenditures, they are double what they were in 2019.

Grause emphasized not having sufficient staff can affect the services hospitals offer.

"If a hospital is going to have a dialysis unit, you need a nephrologist. You'd probably need more than one nephrologist," Grause observed. "But you also need specially trained nurses, you need the right equipment, you need all the medication, you need the IV solution and the peritoneal solution."

Another factor in hospitals' declining operating margins is insurer demands. The report showed some surveyed hospitals project insurers' actions will cut their 2024 operating revenues by 5% or more. Estimates showed it would result in $1.3 billion or more in lost revenue for the hospitals.


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