We are entering the new year strong with a coalition of over 300 faith, business, labor, health care, and community organizations signed on to the Health Care for All! Resolution! Special thank you to Maryland NAACP, 1199SEIU MD/DC, CASA, MedChi, Maryland Hospital Association, and Baptist Ministers' Night Conference of Baltimore and Vicinity for speaking at our kickoff event in December. This legislative session we have five top priorities on our legislative agenda to help ensure access to quality, affordable health care for ALL Marylanders. They are listed below and you can read more about them in Maryland Matters. - Full funding for the Prescription Drug Affordability Board.
- Health care subsidies for young adults. In 2021 Senator Brian Feldman and Delegate Ken Kerr sponsored a subsidies law which invested $20 million per year for two years to help lower-income young adults ages 18-34 purchase health coverage. In 2023 they will take the lead to make those subsidies permanent.
- Outreach for small employers about health coverage. Senator Katie Fry Hester and Delegate Robbyn Lewis will put in legislation to appropriate $5 million per year for five years to the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange to do outreach to help small businesses get their employees enrolled in health care plans.
- Expansion of health coverage regardless of immigration status. Senator Clarence Lam and Delegate Bonnie Cullison will introduce two pieces of legislation: to allow people to purchase health coverage from the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange regardless of immigration status; and to study the feasibility of expanding Medicaid coverage to all income-eligible Marylanders. We will advocate in partnership with CASA who is taking the lead role.
- Enroll SNAP recipients into Medicaid. Senator Malcolm Augustine and Delegate Lorig Charkoudian will put in legislation to automatically enroll recipients of SNAP into Medicaid who are eligible but not yet enrolled.
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