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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 15 S E P T E M B E R 2 1 , 2 0 2 0 F O C U S H E A LT H C A R E / W E L L N E S S Worried your heating system won't make it through another winter? Did your cooling system struggle to keep up this summer? Do some rooms never feel comfortable? EFFICIENCYMAINE.COM 866-376-2463 Now is the time to upgrade to a high-performance system that can meet both your heating and cooling needs. Reduce energy costs. Improve comfort. Incentives are available for heat pump and variable refrigerant flow systems. Speak with your contractor to see which solution is right for your building. n recent months use of telehealth has spiked, thanks to the pandemic, as one benefits provider's numbers show (below). Mainers face obstacles in getting health care, with education, race and where you live factors in getting access to care (right). F O C U S S TA R T S O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E ยป I S O U R C E : Harvard Pilgrim Health Care S O U R C E : data.hrsa.gov; maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc TELEHEALTH ON THE RISE IN RECENT MONTHS MAINE HEALTH CARE BY THE NUMBERS Massachusetts Maine New Hampshire Connecticut 8,954% 6,817% 7,199% 6,148% Since February, use of telehealth has increased in every state that Harvard Pilgrim Health Care serves. Fully insured commercial telehealth use in March and April 2020 increased by 4,604% compared to the same timeframe last year 97% of those who used telehealth services in March and April were new telehealth users that did not do so during the first two months of this year Maine has 16 critical access hospitals; 38 rural health clinics; 81 federally qualified health center sites located outside of urbanized areas; 9 short term hospitals located outside of urbanized areas Maine ranks 2nd in the U.S. for the number of primary care physicians practicing in rural counties with 99.5 per 100,000. The national average for rural counties is 54.5 per 100,000 Maine ranks 8th in the U.S. for the number of psychiatrists practicing in rural counties. Maine has 6.2 per 100,000 residents. The U.S. rural average is 3.4 per 100,000 8% of Maine residents lack health insurance. 13.9% of Mainers report poor general health; Maine is ranked 14th nationally 21% of members of racial or ethnic minority groups lack a regular health care provider; 66% are less likely to have had a check-up in the prior year; 17% are more likely to have not sought out health care because of the cost in the prior year (compared to 10% for white Mainers) 19% of adults without a high school diploma in Maine do not have a regular health care provider, compared with 14% of high school graduates, 11% of those with some college and 8% with a Bachelor's degree or higher