The Bangor Daily News from Bangor, Maine • 7

7 Bangor Daily News Friday July 8 1988 Physicians oppose plan to hike insurance rates obstetrical caseload in an attempt to But still is well below the against Maine doctors has destay ahead of his insurance premi- average obstetrical in Maine of creased iivrecent years and remains urns and other costs but finally opt- $1100 Makin said below the national average St Paul ed to drop the specialty altogether haVe to raise the prices (for other sas cost of each Maine claim after delivering 250 babies in one patients) or absorb the has climbed from $13300 in 1983 to year double the rate described as of 70 ACOG members in Maine $59300 last year more than 25 per- average by other doctors who testi- who responded to a survey earlier cent above the national average fied Thursday this year 22 said they had stopped The Minnesota-based company an insane of accepting Medicaid patients within whichpaid court plaintiffs $14 mil- childbirths he said the previous two years 14 of them in lon on behalf of Maine doctors and Dr JohnBMakin Jr anobstetri- the past year Makin spent an additional $500000 on de- cian-gynecologist in Waterville who fense costs last year said in litera- is secretary of the Maine chapter of St Paul insures 650 of ture distributed at the hearing that ACDG blamed the allowance for ob- 2OQO practicing physicians receiy- more than 150 claims remained stetrical services undeh the ing about $5 million a year in premi- pending in the state at the end- of Medicaid program as another rea- urns Reynolds said Most of the 1987 son for the delivery room crunch other doctors are covered by the St rates have increased The reimbursement limit current- physician-owned Medical Mutual In- steadily in recent years: 20 percent' 1 ly $500 is scheduled to be lifted to surance Co of Maine in 1984 33 percent in 1985 144 per- $863 this month according to Elaine St Paul cites the cost of claims in cent in 1986 and 30 percent last year Fuller director of the Bureau of Maine as the reason for the proposed The latest if approved '3 Medical Services in the state Human rate hike would amount to a 198-percent Services Department While the number of claims filed increase GARDINER (AP) Doctors lined Paul spokeswoman Barbara ambulance to a Lewiston hospital to up Thursday to oppose the latest Reynolds receive postnatal care he said plan to boost rates for medical mal- Dr Roy Miller representing the travesty" said Miller who practice insurance in Maine warn- Maine Academy of Family Physi- practices at the Sheepscot Valley ing that the increases are driving cians said Maine has the Health Center in Coopers Mills physicians out of obstetrics and lOwest infant mortality rate six going to see our infant mor- making it difficult for pregnant deaths per 1000 births in 1986 yet tality rate go women in some to get medical continues to see a decline in the num- Dr Michael Drouin of Auburn care close to home ber of doctors delivering babies lar- treasurer of the Maine chapter of the The testimony came at a state In- gely because of high insurance costs American College of Obstetrics and surance Bureau hearing on the St Among the 250 family doctors who Gynecology said the Lewis ton-Au- Paul Fire and Marine Insurance belong to group he said the burn area had 12 obstetricians and a plan to increase rates by an proportion Who accepted obstetrical half-dozen family practitioners who 'average nearly 20 percent less cases declined from more than 65 delivered babies 10 years ago Nowa-' than a year after a 30-percent in- percent in 1984 to 48 percent last days he said only six obstetricians crease took effect to offset what the year first time ever been remain and two of them are phasing company says are the unusually less than out their practices high costs of claims in Maine Miller told of a Lewiston woman a real crisis in Lewiston- Obstetricians who currently pay who was forced to go to the town of said Drouin himself a for- about $45000 a year in premiums for i Norway to deliver premature twins mer obstetrician-gynecologist who $1 million-per-case coverage would because no doctor was available in now limits his practice to see an increase of 17 percent or 'the metropolitan area The twins gynecology $7650 under the proposal said St Nironically then had to be returned by Drouin said he had expanded his Vision Quest program offers clear sailing when jail looms for troubled youngsters From the July 1889 NEWS Bangor Me The people were evidently tired after the exercises of July Fourth for fifteen hundred rode on the street cars Friday The new car house at the station on the Hampden Road will have in the basement twenty or more horse stalls and during the winter season horses will draw the cars which are to be placed on runners Greenville Me Newspapers are giving accounts of racing between passenger steamers on Moosehead Lake and cite one between the Comet and Moosehead It is said great rivalry exists between the crews and that as much as nine miles has been made in thirty-five minutes will quite likely give these boats a wide says a Bangor man who is familiar with the lake the boats are not intended for such purposes and such work may be called risky Study of Champion mill shows no cancer risk By Emmet Meara Midcoast Bureau ROCKLAND Twenty students will spend the summer aboard a slick 130-foot vessel the New Way as an alternative to jail or another institution The students are participants in Vision Quest an alternative program which gained publicity from its wagon-train trips across the country Vision Quest works with courts in vanous states to keep youths in trouble out of jail Project coordinator James Fitzgerald said Tuesday the program tries to use the of the to work with students who have developed encounters with the courts of these kids have little to feel good he said The well-known qualities of life at sea including maturation and strength give tne students a sense of accomplishment and self worth Fitzgerald said While they are learning how to steer and navigate the vessel the program endeavors to give them assistance in steering a course through their own lives which will keep them free of trouble The months aboard the schooner are not a vacation Students cook wash dishes run the ship and attend classes from a certified teacher five ddys week Vision Quest uses the New Way and the Bill of Rights built by Harvey Gamage in the ocean program The New Way was built in 1939 by Western Union to lay cable in the southern islands When satellite programs took over the schooner was deemed expendable After it served as a charter boat it was purchased by the alternative program four years ago The vessel operates from the Great Lakes to Key West each year with a crew of 20 and a staff of 13 Sailing aboard the Nfew WSps a privilege earned after serdiHr at least two months in a wagon camp Vision Quest was formed in 1973 by an Arizona juvenile officer to aid troubled youths from ages 10 to 21 The students are usually referred from the criminal or mental-health systems The programs offered include wilderness camping wagon trains biking and sailing expeditions and learning centers The program is designed to return these students to homes and communities with increased self-respect and social skills It is a private for-profit program Youth who enlist in the program must promise to stay free of sex drugs and alcohol during the program The program is built around making and keeping commitments developing positive relationships supportive intervention success ori- Police search for missing babysitter BOWDOIN (AP) About 50 law enforcement officers mounted a search Thursday for a missing 12-year-old babysitter who had been very reliable" a state police spokesman said The missing girl was identified as Sarah Cherry of Bowdoin She was described as blue-eyed with blonde shoulder-length hair and freckles and said to be last seen wearing new blue jeans with a black T-shirt marked with splashes of purple and yellow coloring i Trooper Randall Nichols said the girl was babysitting an 11-month-ola child Wednesday at a residence on Lewis Hill Road near the Bowdoin-Bowdoinham town line Nichols said that when the parents returned home in the afternoon they found the baby in a crib but Sarah was missing Nichols said a pickup truck found in a wooded part of the search area had been impounded and that several people including the owner of the vehicle had been interviewed However the trooper said it was In some specific cancers there were some elevated risk levels but according to the study they were not related to employment at the mill Cancer of the kidney with an SMRpf 271 was the only area with a statistically significant risk increase over the general population there were seven deaths from kidney cancer with only 258 expected long-term employment did not increase the risk as would be expected if the disease was caused by occupational the study said The risks of stomach cancer and lung cancer were elevated slightly according to the study but neither rates were considered statistically significant The study noted that the stomach cancer rates were highest among shorter-termed workers that an occupational cause was Death rates due to lung cancer increased with the length of employment the study stated a pattern slightly suggestive of a possible occupational relationship even though none of the increases were statistically significant The study also stressed that no conclusions concerning lung cancer could be drawn unless there was more information concerning the smoking habits of the affected mill employees Because cancer records were not I available for earlier years the cancer incidence study covered the period from 1975 to 1985 Champion initiated the study in 1986 at the urging of a group of employees who had expressed concern over what seemed to be a high incidence of cancer among their coworkers Morgan said the study showed that the Champion mill had a work force with 87 percent of the workers having held jobs there for 35 or more years That factor plus the small employee population can contribute to the perception that there is an he said The EHA report echoed those comments noting that it found basis for any concern that there is an increase in cancer ented education and adventure Fitzgerald said the system works and more cheaply than traditional systems The average jail will cost tne system an estimated $150 he said The daily cost of a day aboard the New Way is $88 According to a study by the Rand Corp Vision Quest has a success rate of 50 to 70 percent far above that of traditional juvenile systems is a terrific alternative to jail There are very few kids age 12 to 21 who need to be locked Fitzgerald said Stan Hedowalski agreed A teenager with a court history in the state of New Jersey Hedowalski said the wagon train life was a He said the program has me deal with the issues of my He will leave the program in August with a high school equivalency diploma with plans for construction or kitchen work The program given me a chance to take a look at he said Scott from Portland also was headed for jail when Vision Quest was suggested has helped me get through a lot of changes I can deal with my anger and substance abuse He plans to leave the system in a month and get back into public school in order to work for his diploma The jobs on the New Way are given out after the students have our Fitzgerald said No one is allowed in the engine room of up in the rigging until they have proven their trustworthiness Jobs are handed out in positive he said I -SIS -A''-- Sarah Cherry unknown whether the truck was connected to the case and that the investigation as well as the search was continuing Nichols said the case was being treated as because the disappearance was uncharacteristic are very Nichols said State troopers and Sagadahoc County deputies were joined by the state Warden Service in conducting the search THE NEW WAY built in 1939 by Western Union to lay cable is now operated by Vision Quest a program that offers an alternative to jail and other institutions The vessel along with sister ship Bill of Rights will sail in this weekend's Great Schooner Race that concludes in Rockland Harbor (NEWS Photo by Emmet Meara) Congress OIs bill to name courthouse after Gignoux By Rich Hewitt Hancock Bureau BUCKSPORT A two-year study of employees at the Champion International Corp paper mill in Bucks-port shows that they do not face an increased risk of cancer because of their employment there According to Dr Robert Morgan one of the principal investigators for the Environmental Health Associates project team which conducted the study the incidence of cancer at the mill and the cancer mortality rate generally were lower than the expected rate for the national population is no increase of risk of cancer in the (mill) Morgan said think that is good Champion officials agreed" relieved that there is no link between working at the mill and the increased chance of getting said Robert Turner the vice president for public affairs at Champion The two-year $350990 study included people working at the mill since 1946 a total of 2953 employees It included current employees those who had retired left the mill for other employment and those who had died According to Morgan the total deaths from all causes were 87 percent of the number expected using the standard mortality ratio The standard mortality ratio compares the number of deaths studied to the number expected from the national population you hqve an SMR of 100 seeing what you would have Morgan told mill employees at an open session Thursday afternoon hundred is what is expected of the US The 87 percent figure is a typical finding in employed populations Morgan said The mortality rate at the mill for cancer was 963 percent of what could be expected on the national level not statistically Morgan said IP retirees join JAY AP) About a dozen retired 'hite-collar workers from Inters lational Paper company joined trikers on the picket lines Thursday protest the treatment them IP officials acknowledged the iresence of the former employees iut made no comment Company pokesmen were unavailable for omment Thursday night and mes-ages left fofthem were not eturned recognition for his accomplishments was considered for an appointment to the US Supreme Court and heard testimony in numerous trials throughout the country including a number that were accorded national attention jurists have matched his quality of performance and the delegation said set a high standard and during his years of service embodied the best the US judicial system had to offer His name on the federal Courthouse will serve as a constant reminder of his unquestionable integrity character and graciousness all qualities that' future occupants should strive to Correction corner Readers are encouraged to call the SEWS' attention to factual errors by teleiihoning the Managing Editor 942-4XXI extensions 201 or 307 between 2 and 3 pm or by writing the SEWS editor at 491 Main St Bangor Maine 04401 WASHINGTON DC Congress cleared legislation Thursday naming the federal courthouse in Portland after Judge Edward Thaxter Gignoux who presided there for a quarter century The legislation now on its way to President Ronald Reagan for signature was supported by US Sens William Cohen and George Mitchell in the Senate and US Reps Olympia Snowe and Joseph Brennan in the House Judge Gignoux was appointed to the federal bench by President Eisenhower in 1957 and at the time was the youngest district judge in the country He retired in 1983 and assumed senior status are extremely pleased that Congress has passed this legislation honoring one of the most distinguished the delegation said in a joint statement the courthouse in Judge Gignoux honor is but one small way to say thank you to this exceptional public Durng his years on the bench Judge Gignoux received national picket lines Richard Dojron 58 was among the retired employees marching Doiron was one of five brothers who worked at the mills and said he was marching because he was shocked by the way management has treated the employees during the year-icing strike Doiron he worked at the Jay mill for 35 years and retired recently from a $60000-per-year supervisory position.