Patty Wight

Now that President Barack Obama has said he will send 300 military advisers, rather than combat troops, to Iraq, members of Maine's congressional delegation are weighing in on that decision. All four say they share the public's fatigue with the war.  But they disagree on the president's overall strategy, and next steps.

No one likes paying medical bills, much less being over-billed.  About five years ago, the federal government created a program to guard against overpayments in Medicare.  It's called the Recovery Audit Contractor - or RAC - program. So far, it's identified about $5 billion in overpayments.  But many hospitals say that's little return for the enormous administrative cost that's required to comply, and that the program does nothing to improve patient care.  Patty Wight reports on what the RAC program means for Maine hospitals.

More than 3 million people in the U.S. have Hepatitis C, a difficult-to-treat infection that can cause serious liver disease and death.  When a drug called Sovaldi was released late last year to treat Hepatitis C, it soon made headlines for its 90 percent success rate - and for its cost: $1,000 a pill.  The price tag has some states putting treatment on hold, and insurance companies are reeling.  Patty Wight reports on the impact of Sovaldi in Maine, as well as the questions it raises about the cost and benefits of certain drug regimens.

At 7:00 tonight, five seals will emerge from kennels and flop across a Biddeford beach into the ocean. It will be the final release of rehabilitated seals from the University of New England's Marine Animal Rehabilitation and Conservation Center. UNE announced last month the center would close due to financial constraints and a shift in programming. Those who rescue stranded marine animals say they're scrambling to figure out how to continue helping animals in distress.

For 25 years, Portland has called Archangel, Russia a sister city.  But civil rights supporters in Portland say that relationship now needs to change.  They say gay activists in Archangel are being bullied as a result of their civic activism both at home and during a recent visit to Maine.  Now, members of Portland's gay community want Portland's City Council to suspend all visits with Archangel government officials in a show of solidarity with Russia's LGBT community. 

Under the Affordable Care Act, the quality of health care you receive is supposed to improve. Hospitals, for example, are expected to reduce readmissions, cut down on unnecessary tests. But these are the kinds of services that have been the bread and butter of hospitals for years. Take them away, and the hospital loses money. So the challenge for hospitals is how to increase quality and still stay in business. Patty Wight visited one hospital in western Maine that's grappling with that task, and tonight she has the first of two reports on what she found out.

Voter turnout was expected to be low on this primary day. And with the exception of Lewiston, that appears to be true for most precincts across the state. Still, local issues and contested primary races for Maine's 2nd District Congressional seat are the reason some voters are heading to the polls.

Some voters hit the polls out of a sense of duty. Like Janice Tripp of Lewiston - she's been a steadfast voter running on 60 years. "I always have been, since I was eligible to vote," she says.

For decades, the best way to get good health insurance in the U.S. has been through the workplace. But with the Affordable Care Act's online marketplace, health insurance doesn't have to be tied to a job anymore. It's allowing some people to escape so-called "job lock" - saying with a job purely for the health benefits. And while critics of the ACA worry that the law will encourage companies to cut staff and hours to avoid insurance mandates, some Maine workers say new insurance options have freed them to pursue their career ambitions.