Ryan Moran, deputy secretary for healthcare financing and Medicaid at the Maryland Department of Health (MDH), and Alyssa Lord, deputy secretary for behavioral health at MDH, discussed key health policy topics and successes during the 2024 Maryland State of Reform Health Policy Conference this month.
Moran noted that 40 percent of the state’s births are covered under Medicaid, and said he is proud of Maryland’s recent Medicaid innovations.
“We are proud of the governor and the secretary of an investment in the next fiscal year to make housing case management services statewide after a successful pilot in four jurisdictions. Thinking about the intersections of social determinants of health, particularly housing is one of the key drivers.”
— Moran
Like several other states, Maryland is working on justice-involved pre-release services for adults and youth who are in carceral settings.
Lord discussed prevention and early intervention in the behavioral healthcare space. She said local jurisdictions have been highly active in identifying needs of community members, and reporting that information. She said MDH’s work cannot be done without community partnerships.
“We’re not doing this in a silo. We can’t begin to address the needs of our communities by working in disparate ways and disparate places.”
— Lord
Lord said the state has seen drastic spikes—particularly in school-aged and college-aged youth—in problem gambling, which MDH hopes to address through additional partnerships.
“We are actively partnering with the (Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling) to figure out new ways and strategies we need to (introduce to) the community to get them the access and care they need.”