Veto day was held on Wednesday, May 2nd. Click through to find out which health-related vetoes were overridden and which sustained, along with a report on the day and the future of the 128th Legislature. Where do we go from here?

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On June 1, MMA filed comments with the Board of Licensure in Medicine on proposed Rule, Chapter 21, Use of Controlled Substances for Treatment of Pain. The proposal was prepared jointly by five licensing boards representing prescribers including Physicians, PAs, Nurse Practitioners, Podiatrists and Dentists.

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The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on January 23, 2017, that the proposed $37 billion merger between health insurers Aetna and Humana will not happen. Citing the anti-competitive effects of such a merger, Judge John Bates found the insurers' arguments in favor of the merger "unpersuasive."

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The Maine Department of Health and Human Services has released the new, statutorily required rule concerning opioid prescribing and use of the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) on an emergency basis. This blog post provides a summary of its provisions.

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On November 29, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump named Rep. Tom Price, MD (D-GA) as his nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services. There have been varied reactions to this news from the medical community, from the public, and from organized medicine. This blog post is an opportunity for MMA members and others to discuss this appointment.

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The AMA has provided this update for physicians on CMS's final rule on MACRA (Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act). It includes resources to help with practice management and understanding payment models.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics has published a new policy statement, “Medical Versus Nonmedical Immunization Exemptions for Child Care and School Attendance,” which recommends that only medical exemptions be allowed for vaccine requirements for child care and school attendance.

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Maine has not been chosen as one of fourteen states to partcipate in Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+), an initiative from CMS designed to give primary care practices greater financial resources and flexibility to improve the quality and efficiency of care and reduce unnecessary health care utilization.

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MMA member Hector Tarraza, MD, and MMA Executive Vice President Gordon Smith, JD, were named in Maine Magazine as two of 50 Mainers charting the State's future. Each was cited for his unique contributions to public health.

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Please join the Maine Medical Association and Maine Quality Counts on July 14th for an educational Learning Session designed for providers to gain practical information on key issues related to implementing Maine's new law limiting opioid prescribing. The session is designed to provide training for clinician leaders in your organization and prepare them to train and support practice teams in complying with the new law.

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Friday, April 29th, was “Veto Day” at the State House—the day the Legislature reconvened for the last day of the session to vote on the 33 vetoes submitted by Governor LePage. All in all, it was a good day for medicine in Maine. The Legislature sustained 12 vetoes and overrode 20, with one tax bill being allowed to die at adjournment after being sent back to committee. Ten of the 20 veto overrides had at least passing reference to medical issues.

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Governor LePage has vetoed LD 1547, which would make it easier for first responders, friends and families to obtain naloxone to use in reversing the effects of opioid overdose. Read the reactions from people both in and beyond Maine.

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On March 23rd, the Joint Standing Committee on Health & Human Services voted 11 to 1 “Ought to Pass as amended” on L.D. 1646 and the bill will go to the floor of the House and Senate in early April. The "Ought to Pass" form of the bill resulted from negotiations between the LePage administration and the MMA.

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Following the public hearing on L.D. 1646 and L.D. 1648 last Wednesday, MMA representatives and representatives of the LePage Administration reached agreement on several essential provisions in L.D. 1646. Durational limits on prescriptions have been increased and a list of important exceptions to the limits is under development. In addition, the effective date of the law has been extended to January 1, 2017. The legislature's deliberations on these opioid abuse bills will take place during the next one to three weeks as this session winds down. While broad areas of agreement are described below, many of the details remain to be resolved and your input both to the MMA advocacy staff and key legislators will be critically important as negotiations continue.

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With the alarming news about 272 overdose deaths in Maine in 2015, we thought it might be a good idea to put some information out about naloxone (AKA Narcan®). Learn more about Maine laws relating to naloxone prescribing and use, and read a Fact Sheet about naloxone that provides valuable information for patients and other non-clinicians, too.

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The Physicians Foundation, a non-profit organization that seeks to empower physicians to lead in the delivery of high-quality, cost-efficient healthcare, is launching its fourth national Survey of America’s Physicians, one of the largest physician surveys ever undertaken in the United States. Survey Will Inform a “State of the Union” of the Medical Profession

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As of the last day of open enrollment on Sunday, January 31st, more than 84,000 Mainers had enrolled in health plans through the marketplace exchange, representing a 27% increase over 2015. More than 15,000 of the enrollees are new this year, the remainder representing renewals.

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A problem in the communication of critical lab values led to bacteremia and a large verdict for the patient, pointing out the critical importance of accurate and reliable communication among patient, doctor and hospital.

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January 20th CME program in South Portland on prescribing for pain, preventing diversion and addiction and using diversion alert and the prescription monitoring program (PMP). With increasing pressure at the State House to mandate use of the PMP, stay ahead of the game with this important 3 hour program.

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MMA makes its annual predictions for the upcoming year and checks how it did for 2015.

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