Thanks to your incredible advocacy, we saw several important health care wins during the 2023 Maryland General Assembly Session. Read about them below and in these pieces by WMDT and WFMD. Special thank you to Senator Melony Griffith and Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk for their leadership during their first Sessions as Chairs of the Senate Finance and House Health and Government Operations Committees. Prescription Drug Affordability We applaud Governor Wes Moore, Senate President Bill Ferguson, House Speaker Adrienne Jones, and members of the General Assembly for their commitment to ensuring that Marylanders are able to afford the medicines they need. This session marked the passage of important legislation sponsored by Senator Brian Feldman and Delegate Bonnie Cullison to codify the Prescription Drug Affordability Board's (PDAB) authority to establish upper payment limits on high-cost prescription drugs for state and local government entities. Additionally, an additional $1 million was included in the annual budget to help the PDAB pay back the initial loan it received. This money will allow the PDAB to begin to use all of its annual funds to further its work. We thank these legislative leaders for their commitment to the PDAB, because drugs don't work if people can't afford them. Improving Health Coverage Access SB601/HB814, sponsored by Senator Brian Feldman and Delegate Ken Kerr, extends the program that provides state health subsidies for lower income young Marylanders for two more years. We expect Governor Moore to sign this legislation in the coming weeks. SB26/HB111, sponsored by Senator Malcolm Augustine and Delegate Lorig Charkoudian, will make Maryland the first state in the nation to automatically enroll recipients of SNAP benefits into Medicaid who are eligible but not yet enrolled. In addition, this legislation will help SNAP recipients already enrolled in Medicaid automatically renew their coverage which is very timely given the Medicaid unwinding that started in recent weeks. We expect Governor Moore to sign this legislation in the coming weeks. Legislation sponsored by Senator Katie Fry Hester and Delegate Robbyn Lewis to fund an outreach program to help small employers connect their employees with health coverage did not pass due to funding concerns. However, the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange and the Department of Labor wrote a letter to House Health and Government Operations Chair Joseline Peña-Melnyk on how they can still accomplish the goals of the legislation using existing resources. The Access to Care Act, which would have allowed all Marylanders to enroll in private health coverage through Maryland Health Connection regardless of immigration status, did not pass this session. SB806, sponsored by Senators Ariana Kelly & Shelly Hettleman, requires the state to study ways to expand access to affordable coverage to undocumented immigrants through private coverage, Medicaid, and CHIP. |
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