What is the greatest health care challenge facing Maryland today, and how do you plan to address it?
Many Marylanders are having a hard time affording health insurance and health care. Small businesses and self employed people who must get their insurance through the Exchange have $5,000 deductibles and the premiums are additional hundreds of dollars per month.
There are many federal employees in Maryland and others that work for large companies who are not facing health care costs as high as those in the Exchange.
MHIP was a good plan that helped provide health care/insurance for high risk people. Today, they are in the Exchange and subsidized by a much smaller pool of insurance payers. This is driving up the cost of insurance in the Exchange. We should find a way to reinstate MHIP.
Maryland’s hospitals operate under a unique contract with the federal government that promotes community, equity, and value. It also contributes significantly to Maryland's economy. How do you plan to support the continued success of the Maryland Model?
I support the Maryland model. Healthcare policies in Maryland should be considerate of the waiver and not jeopardize the additional funding Maryland receives.
Maryland is experiencing a shortage of health care practitioners, especially nurses, that we project will worsen in the years ahead. How do you plan to address the immediate crisis and what will you do to make sure we have a robust and sustainable health care workforce pipeline?
As a member of HGO, we have worked on many strategies to increase the number of healthcare workers. The nursing shortage is bad for patient safety and drives up the cost of healthcare. Licensing reciprocity, scholarships, and incentives to bring more people into healthcare professions are helping address the shortages.
We need to develop programs in high school to help get people working in the various fields and help with certifications like CNAs and GNAs. Some counties are working on this.
How would you increase availability of and access to health care for Marylanders?
Community healthcare grants have been successful in providing services to people across the state. Providing help for people who are frequent users of the emergency room though followups from community healthcare services has been effective. Supporting and increasing these programs will help.
Additionally, we should do a better job of helping people address chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure which lead to bad health outcomes and a higher need for healthcare.
What policies will you pursue to improve health for all Marylanders? Please also consider the social determinants of health?
As a member of the HGO committee and the Public Health And Minority Health Disparities subcommittee, we have put forth many policies to help improve health outcomes for all Marylanders and especially where there are disparities.
I am very concerned about the high maternal morbidity rate among African Americans in Maryland. We are trying to get better prenatal and postnatal care for women to bring this down. I have cosponsored a number of bills to help with this.
As a member of the Maryland Commission on Aging, we are working to address the high cost of services for senior citizens. Finding ways to help seniors age in place rather than forcing them into nursing homes has been a focus of the Commission and others that will certainly help seniors and bring down the cost of health care.
How do you plan to address consumers' growing exposure to health care costs, such as high deductible health plans and rising prescription drug prices in Maryland?
I introduced a bill with Delegate Matt Morgan to allow high deductible plans for all people. Currently, the plan is only available for younger people. Small business owners and self employed, like realtors, cannot afford the plans in the Exchange. Some are choosing to be uninsured because the cost of the plans for a family in the Exchange plus the $5,000 deductible means families are paying as much as $18,000 per year for insurance before they get to use it.
Getting the MHIP pool of people out of the Exchange where a small pool of people are subsidizing the high use pool of people will lower the cost for people in the Exchange.
Regarding prescription drug prices, the PBMs are profiting and they are putting small pharmacies out of business. Every session, HGO works on this issue.
Additionally helping senior citizens age in place, as noted in question 5, will help bring down the cost of health care.
Maryland’s worsening medical liability climate, as noted in a recent independent report, threatens access to, and affordability of, health care services in Maryland. Plaintiffs’ attorneys typically take 40% of a medical malpractice judgment. Do you support limiting attorneys’ fees so that the affected individuals can receive more of their settlement or judgment? What additional reforms would you support that balance supporting individuals and families harmed by medical malpractice with ensuring continued access to services in a community?
YES. I supporter the MHA bill.
What are your priorities should you be elected, not confined to health care?
I hope to be reassigned to HGO and continue to work on the issues in that committee as a top priority.
As a member of the Maryland Commission on Aging, I look forward continuing to work on healthcare policies that improve the lives of seniors and also controls the costs.
Additionally, I will be working on things specific to Baltimore County and my district.
I do not think we need the excessive number of bills introduced every year. I prefer to put my energies into issues in HGO where I can shape health care policies directly.