Vt. regulators urge governor
to increase Medicaid funding
MONTPELIER — State regulators are urging Gov. Phil Scott to increase funding for Vermont’s Medicaid program.
Green Mountain Care Board chairman Kevin Mullin wrote a letter to Scott that said the future of health care reform is in jeopardy if additional funding isn’t allocated. Mullin told Vermont Public Radio that underfunding has shifted a disproportionate amount of overall health care costs to the private insurance market. Many state lawmakers have supported the All Payer Model, which aims to cut costs by rewarding hospitals for keeping patients healthy instead of reimbursing them for the number of procedures performed.
Mullin worries that model will be at risk if people continue to see premium increases.
Scott’s chief of staff Jason Gibbs said the governor received the letter and will respond to the board directly.
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — A bald eagle is recovering after it was hit by a car on Interstate 95 and rescued by a New Hampshire state trooper and Fish and Game officer.
The eagle was hit on the interstate in Portsmouth on Sunday afternoon. Trooper Kevin Dobson and conservation officer James Benvenuti came to the bird’s aid. Benvenuti said the eagle had an injured left wing and a large contusion on its chest. It was still sedated Monday morning at the Wings of the Dawn wildlife rehabilitation center in Henniker.
BOSTON — U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy said he’s weighing a challenge to veteran Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Edward Markey in the 2020 Democratic primary.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Kennedy said he has made no final decision and will take several factors into account, including his young family.
The 38-year-old Kennedy is in his fourth term in the U.S. House and had previously indicated plans to seek re-election next year. Markey is 73 and running for a second full term in the Senate after more than three decades in the House.
CONCORD — Gas prices have dropped a bit more in northern New England.
The latest GasBuddy price reports show New Hampshire’s prices fell 2.5 cents per gallon in the last week, bringing the average to $2.51. Maine gas prices dropped 1.8 cents per gallon, averaging $2.58. Vermont’s price was unchanged from last week, at $2.67 a gallon. The national average is $2.58 per gallon. That’s down 16.3 cents from a month ago, and 25 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.
— Wire reports