Watch | Health Care | Mainebiz.biz

Budget problems continue to challenge Maine health care providers, following a recent string of mergers and buyouts among several hospitals. The uncertainty around the impact of the federal Affordable Care Act also clouds the issue. But the news isn't all bad. Health care and the money behind it — a summary:

Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick has submitted to the state a proposal to merge with Parkview Adventist Medical Center, staking a claim against Central Maine Healthcare, which submitted a competing proposal for Parkview. Mid Coast claimed its plan would save $24 million annually in health care costs for the region and includes spending $10 million for the creation and endowment of the Parkview Health Trust. CMHC's proposal would allow it to administer acute care services out of Parkview, which the Mid Coast proposal claims is unnecessary. The state is reviewing both proposals and must issue a certificate of need before any merger can be approved.

Portland-based InterMed reports that a new program focusing on preventive care for its patients has reduced hospitalizations, emergency room admissions and saved the organization nearly $1 million a year. TV station WGME reported that InterMed staff reviewed the records of 1,500 insured patients to identify the most effective preventive care measures for them, which reduced hospitalizations and emergency room visits for those patients by 50%. InterMed plans to expand the program.

A federal court has denied the LePage administration's request for a rush ruling on whether the state government can make around $20 million in cuts — affecting around 36,000 people — to its Medicaid program. The Bangor Daily News reported the state had hoped a decision on cuts to the program would be ready by Oct. 1, but the ruling from judges in the First Circuit Court of Appeals means the state might have to wait until the end of October. The proposed cuts could run afoul of the Affordable Care Act, which originally carried a provision that would have taken away federal Medicaid funds from any states that do not expand the program. In its June ruling on the law, the Supreme Court threw out that provision, which the LePage administration viewed as the go-ahead to make cuts without fear that all federal dollars for the program would be taken away.