Maryland’s request to extend its State Innovation Waiver, under section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act, was recently approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for another five years. State Innovation Waivers may abandon certain federal requirements in order to improve the health insurance market. The State Reinsurance Program (SRP) was enacted … Read more
Health network leaders discussed how they’re working to improve social determinants of health (SDOH) and health equity at the 2023 Maryland State of Reform Health Policy Conference. Angelo Edge, CEO of Aetna Better Health of Maryland, mentioned some incentives the organization is working on to address SDOH, including opening health education centers that focus on … Read more
Health leaders met at the 2023 Maryland State of Reform Health Policy Conference to discuss several longstanding issues that the healthcare system has been facing: workforce shortages and hospital pressures. Megan Renfrew, associate director of external affairs for Maryland’s Health Services Cost Review Commission, spoke on the state’s Total Cost of Care Model, which sets … Read more
Legislators on Maryland’s Health and Government Operations (HGO) committee experienced an historic session by passing all of the bills that were introduced through the committee. Delegates Jamila Woods and Deni Taveras (both Democrats representing Prince George’s) spoke with State of Reform about this session’s successes and ways they seek to continue to strengthen the state’s … Read more
The US Senate’s Committee on Finance held a hearing on May 17th to discuss barriers and opportunities for improving healthcare access within rural communities. Several individuals spoke as witnesses, including Choptank Community Health System CEO and President Sara Rich. Choptank provides primary healthcare services and has a mission of providing access to exceptional, comprehensive, and … Read more
On May 3rd, Gov. Wes Moore signed House Bill 214 into law, establishing the Commission on Public Health, which will begin operations on June 1st. The purpose of the commission is to make recommendations to improve public health services within Maryland. Del. Josephine Peña-Melnyk co-sponsored HB 214. She told State of Reform that the COVID-19 … Read more
After becoming the first state to establish a Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) in 2019, Maryland is set to draft and publish a plan of action for setting upper payment limits on prescription drugs by May 15th. On April 11th, Gov. Wes Moore signed House Bill 279 into law, which re-establishes PDAB’s authority to set … Read more
Senate Finance Committee Chair Melony Griffith (D-Prince George’s) recently told Maryland Matters that she would likely not bring House Bill 588, the Access to Care Act, up for a vote in her committee. The bill would have allowed qualifying residents residing in the state, regardless of immigration status, to obtain coverage through Maryland’s Health Benefit … Read more
Stephanie Ledesma is the vice president for Community Health at Kaiser Permanente, an integrated managed care consortium serving Maryland Medicaid beneficiaries. Ledesma recently responded to State of Reform’s questions about how the organization is preparing for the Medicaid redetermination process, their goals and timelines during redeterminations, and the challenges they are facing. State … Read more
Coming up on one year since its passage, Maryland’s Abortion Care Access Act will finally be able to get off the ground. The Abortion Care Access Act created a training program that was the first of its kind in the nation, but funding for the program was halted by the former governor. House … Read more