My pharmacists said she has had to tell at least 20 different people today that they too didn’t have coverage anymore. She added, “good luck getting through to them, I heard they had over 300 calls yesterday.”

Without giving notice – beside political posturing did LePage give us fair notice? He just set tens of thousands of Maine residents adrift without a life vest, not a oar or even pointing which direct to go for survival.

For me I know I have only about 3 days to receive my medication before it is completely out of my system. What to do? Go to doctor appointments anyway where by federal law they MUST provide service without payment? That seems wrong, doesn’t it? Do I cancel my 4 therapies a week and my daughter’s 2 appointments a week? How do I afford my required monthly lab work, I do the first week of every month?

My voice is tiny, my problems quite small in comparison to so many others but if I’m taken aback with worry, magnify that 49,999 more times.

LePage was wrong in how he handled this. This is not good business, this is not how you treat the people of Maine.

I Donna B. say: Shame on you Governor LePage for what you are doing to my family and all the others MaineCare recipients, who no longer have healthcare!

UPDATE:

I was able to get samples to tied me over. I was told by the Maine Center for Integrated Rehab “that MaineCare has a problem they are now aware of regarding processing. They hope to have it resolved by
6th (today) or the 9th”. I wonder could this have been a test run? How many Maine residents were told just as I was, you no longer have insurance or were not able to get their medications? How many might not
know where to ask for help to stay on medications? Six to Nine days without medication is terrible enough but what if they don’t even know to try again on the 10th?

I don’t know if we will get the insurance back when they fix the problem, I certainly know I hope to the sample supply my provider gave me is only for one week.

While I was writing this a medical provider’s billing department sent her the following regarding my daughter Karen’s medication, the provider forwarded it to me =

“In the production of the monthly eligibility file, some member’s eligibility ended without a new January eligibility opening. Many of the members identified should have remained opened for the new month. We
have identified the members affected by this issue, and we are in the process of correcting the eligibilities. Over the next couple of days, the files should be corrected and the eligibility information will be updated. Once this is done, we expect that the claims that are currently rejecting can be reprocessed and submitted for payment. Pharmacies currently processing prescriptions and receiving messaging from GHS stating “filled after coverage expired” or “no coverage on date of service” can call the MaineCare Pharmacy Helpdesk at 1-866-796-2463 if they want to confirm eligibility.”

Funny that LePage or MaineCare hasn’t contacted local media to get the work out, after all this started six days ago.

When a real estate investor buys land for $1,000 an acre and sells it five years later for $30,000 an acre, he has not created that wealth. That wealth was created by the community: the workers, business people, and governments that developed the city surrounding the investor’s land. The community creates the services, and the demand,that increases the value of this land. The investor may have done nothing but sign a promissory note to pay for that land, yet we have accepted a system where all of the increased value goes to the person who signed the note. We then tax that income, at the most, at approximately one third. We leave two thirds of this huge increase in private hands while the rest of us work and scrape to pay for the services that will multiply his next investment.
It doesn’t have to be this way.

President Kennedy used to quote Luke 12:48, “From those to whom much is given, much is required,” and he lived that simple concept of justice. Just 50 years ago, under President Kennedy, we recognized this principle and taxed the wealthy at a 70 percent tax rate. From those to whom much is given, much is required. Today, we tax the wealthy at approximately 35 percent, or one-half of the previous rate, and wonder why we face budget shortfalls at every level of government.

Donald Trump’s salary is reportedly $42,000,000 per year, primarily from real estate investments. Yet we—the community—create the conditions that increase the value of his investments every year. Increasing his tax contribution from 35 percent ($13,000,000) to 70 percent ($26,000,000) per year would not only make a significant
contribution to our budget problems, it would be fair. We resist implementing this simple and obvious solution to our budget crises only because we have been trained to believe that $42,000,000 he makes each year is entirely his money. It is not.

No one becomes wealthy without a lot of help from a lot of people, and Trump is no exception. It is time to demand that Trump and other wealthy individuals and large corporations pay their fair share of the costs it takes to fund our country and our states. Tax justice is a simple step we can take to address the financial crises we are facing
and stop the ever-increasing concentration of power and money in our country.
—————————–
Leeper is a Madison attorney actively supporting the protests against
Governor Walker’s attack on public employees and collective
bargaining. Leeper has served as a District Attorney in Wisconsin and
has taught human rights, peace and conflict, negotiations, and rule of
law courses in Ukraine, Spain, Zimbabwe, and the United States.
David D. Leeper
Attorney, Mediator, and Conflict Consultant
866 Terry Place, Madison, WI 53711
608-238-7177 daveleeper@gmail.com Fax 608-238-3312

Apparently, the mural proved offensive to a visitor to the Department of Labor who, upon returning from an environment she described as like “communist North Korea,” felt moved to send the governor an anonymous fax requesting its removal.

The governor acceded to the request of the sender, a self-styled “Secret Admirer,” and also ordered removal of similarly offensive names from Department of Labor conference rooms (e.g., the Cesar Chavez Room, the Frances Perkins Room).

The next thing you know, welcome to Maine, national media.

It is remarkable that all of this was precipitated by an anonymous fax. Think of it – the governor was moved to take action by a single anonymous voice. It makes you wonder whether other plaintive cries for relief will receive the same attention.

So, here is another message the governor can expect to receive – or, rather, not receive, for reasons which will become clear.

“Dear Gov. LePage: I am the CEO of a small technology company based in the Boston area. We have 20 full-time employees now and are outgrowing our current space. Our rent here is very high, and it’s a hassle for some of our employees, customers and vendors to come to our offices.

“Much of the work we do for our clients can be done anywhere – over secure Internet lines, private networks and so on – so we have begun to consider whether we might relocate our business, or at least some portions of it, to places we might enjoy living, working and raising our families.

“I used to vacation in Maine with my family and we have some very happy associations with the state. Over the past few years we’ve watched the state’s technology infrastructure improve and become more suitable for a business like ours. We like what we’ve seen of Portland. I recently visited Bangor, too, and I had a look at some mill space in Brunswick and in Lewiston.

“It was exciting to imagine setting up shop in Maine, populating our new offices with local talent, attracting some of our Boston-based crew to the state and so on.

“Unfortunately, however, we’ve put our plans on hold. In fact, I’ve asked one of my team members here at the company to consider other locations for our company. Why? Quite frankly, we don’t think the culture of the state, at least as it is expressed in the current political environment, is a good fit for us.

“Here’s how it looks from our vantage point:

“You apparently believe the failure to remove BPA from plastics would do little more than result in a few women growing ‘little beards.’

“Our company is owned and led by a woman – me.

“You told the local chapter of the NAACP to ‘kiss your butt.’ I also recall your being ready to tell President Obama to ‘go to hell.’

“My partner is African American, and so are several of my employees.

“Today I read in The New York Times that you ordered the removal of murals from the walls of the Department of Labor because they reflected an imbalance between worker and employer. You thought they were perhaps a bit too pro-union.

“Both of my parents were members of a union and were grateful for the decent working conditions the union had been able to negotiate for them. Their own parents had been injured on the job numerous times because there were no safety rules in effect.

“All of this makes me wonder whether Maine makes any sense for me, my family and my company. It pains me to think this way, since I’m sure that most Mainers don’t share the views you’ve expressed. But, then again, the Legislature has become pretty ‘conservative’ as well.

“Bottom line, we’re not going to be moving the company to Maine just yet. We’ll see how things go for a while longer in our current situation. If we have to move, we’ll consider all our options.

“I doubt you’ll ever see this note – this is, after all, just an anonymous fax – but I wanted you to know that there are people like me and companies like mine who would have been interested in Maine, if things hadn’t taken such a weird turn.

“You see, companies like mine – creative, energetic, young, multicultural, mobile – take a variety of things into consideration as we make our growth plans.

“So, we’ll check back with Maine in a few years and see how things are going.

“Coincidentally, I hear that Maine is now officially ‘Open for Business.’

“Good luck with that.”

It ranges from taxing the purchase of garden vegetable seeds (versus no sales tax on “food” in general, including soda pop and candy) to thinking that with BPA, the “worst case is some women may have little beards” (versus the clear scientific consensus that the endocrine hormone disruption by BPA can severely affect fetuses, etc, etc, etc.).  Perhaps Gov. Paul La Page is not familiar with Dr. Louis Guillette’s research on hormone disrupting chemicals, causing small penises in alligators in Florida!

The state of Maine cannot have it both ways, as is also illustrated by the incessant complaining about the high cost of “health care,” the increasing burden of chronic epidemic diseases (obesity, diabetes, asthma, cancer, etc.), and the lack of primary care, general practice doctors.  Maine licenses board certified Naturopathic Doctors, the 3rd group of primary care, general practice medical doctors in the U.S. (along with M.D.’s and D.O.’s).  The alternative analysis of factors causing illness and disease (e.g. environmental chemical exposures and inadequate nutrition, etc.) along with the basic premise of Naturopathic Medicine that “The body has the ability to heal itself, if given a chance,” has a long illustrative history of reversing chronic disease states and therefore decreasing healthcare costs.

Maine has lost many, many licensed Doctors of Naturopathic Medicine over the last few years because there is NO coverage of Naturopathic Medicine in Maine by any private insurance plans (versus Vermont, Oregon, etc.), Medicaid (Maine Care), or Medicare.  Maine Care and Maine’s Assistant Attorney General have both told me that Maine Care only covers the services of physicians (M.D’s & D.O.”s), and not doctors (N.D.’s).  Further, Maine Care cannot expand their services to cover Naturopathic Medicine due to budget constraints. The reality is that the pie would be cut differently and true prevention (not early detection) would be offered as a choice to ALL of the people of Maine, not just to people who can afford to pay cash out-of-pocket.  I challenge ALL the people of Maine to ask the question:  What would happen to our economy in the U.S., if everyone became well”  Do people have to be sick and be offered only “disease maintenance” (“health care”) to keep our economy running?

Dr. Kaye Kilburn, a neurologist at the Univ. of So. Calif. Keck School of Medicine has noted in a 2003 journal article (“Why Is Chemical Brain Injury Ignored? Pondering Causes and Risks”), that “Ironically, acceptance [of chemically induced brain injury] will be slower if many decision makers’ brains have been damaged, and it will be accelerated if damage has been limited to a few.” (Arch. Environ. Med)

Those who have not learned the lessons of history, will be bound to repeat it! (e.g. “Rome’ s Ruin By Lead Poisoning”).

Dr. Joyce R. Young, N.D., IBCLC
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (Licensed in Maine and Oregon)

356 Bunker Hill Rd.
Newcastle, ME 04553
(207) 563-1636
drjoyceyoung@tidewater.net

Paul LePage is an ultra-conservative, tea party zealot. Not only is he committed to barring any attempt for marriage equality in our state but he also wants to repeal existing protections for LGBT Mainers.

We are very fortunate to have two pro-marriage candidates for governor from which to choose: Democrat Libby Mitchell and Independent Eliot Cutler.

A majority of Mainers will vote for these two pro-marriage candidates tomorrow and yet, sadly, we may be saddled with an anti-equality governor for four years. An average of recent polling puts LePage at 39.3%, Cutler at 26.5% and Mitchell at 23.3%.

It has been our strategy from the beginning of this campaign to defeat Paul LePage, and to support the pro-marriage candidate who is within striking distance of that goal.

Tomorrow, please vote for the pro-marriage candidate who you believe has the best chance of beating LePage. Not voting is not an option.

Vote tomorrow like your rights depend on it – because in all honesty, they do.

Betsy Smith, Executive Director

The MSBC represents over 2,500 small business owners and entrepreneurs and is the fastest-growing coalition of small business owners in Maine. Small businesses make up nearly 80 percent of the companies in Maine. We are the backbone of Maine’s economy.

As the engine of Maine’s communities, we want a governor who understands our priorities.

Libby Mitchell is our candidate. She has a long record of fighting for our priorities at the local and State level, such as lowering the costs of health care and energy. She fought insurance rate hikes and voted to fund programs that help Maine businesses and homeowners weatherize and conserve.

We are especially pleased with her plan for seed-capital investments, which will help provide more cash-on-hand for new businesses. That is exactly the kind of solution we need to overcome the hurdles of starting and growing a business.

Libby has fought for Maine people her entire career. We trust her to fight for us as governor.

During the 1990s, Americans created 22 million new jobs under President Clinton’s leadership. He has already endorsed Libby, and this Sunday he’s coming to a rally in Lewiston to tell us why. To get tickets, go to www.mainedems.org/clinton.

Thank You,

David A. White

Owner, MDI Imported Car Service, and a spokesperson for the more than 2,500 members of the Maine Small Business Coalition

Dear Governor Baldacci,

Thank you for your time at Amato’s today. As I mentioned to you, Coast of Maine Organic Products, Inc received a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) about 9 months ago. We have used that money to expand our Marion Township facility and hire another full time employee.

We have wonderful, hardworking and ingenious employees in Marion. They are a big reason that our organically certified gardening soils are distributed to over 700 retail locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and the Mid-West. Our beautiful bags brand Maine wherever they are sold.

I have a deep love and respect for Maine and its citizens and I am proud that our company is an important employer in a depressed county.

I am determined to tell our story of several Maine companies working together to create organically certified products that promote the best of Maine.

You will get a sense of what I am saying if you take 7 minutes to watch our most recent video. In addition to promoting a product that we make for Master Nursery garden centers we were also able to promote Pineland Farms All-Natural Beef in Fort Fairfield and Gordon Kelley’s Peat bog in Cherryfield, Maine.

http://www.youtube.com/cameronbonsey#p/a/u/0/Lp0UMTdmJLU

We are shooting a lot of beautiful video and we’ll be putting together several broadcast quality videos in the future. It there is anything the Department of Tourism needs from us we’d be happy to oblige.

Yours truly,

Cameron Bonsey