With just two weeks until the General Assembly crossover deadline, MHA’s advocacy team and your government affairs leads have partnered together to make considerable progress on the field’s top priority—growing the health care workforce.

MHA’s bill to make the Board of Nursing operate more efficiently is a top priority to ensure the Board serves as a gateway to the profession, not a barrier. The bill, HB 611, passed unanimously out of the House and is headed to the Senate, where we anticipate it will receive overwhelming support. MHA worked closely with the bill sponsor, now Senator Ariana Kelly, to develop the proposal, which moves the Board’s infrastructure operations under the Secretary of Health’s authority for two years and puts new requirements in place to support workforce planning and development. 

We’ve also advanced other recommendations outlined in the report from MHA’s Workforce Task Force.

• We worked before session to ensure Governor Moore’s budget continued funding for provider loan repayment. 
• Legislation to make it easier for internationally educated nurses to obtain a Maryland license received favorable hearings in both chambers. 
• We are partnering with nurses and community colleges to create pathways and wraparound supports for certified nursing assistants to grow into other nursing roles. 
• Our team anticipated action by The Joint Commission and advanced a bill to ensure physicians can comply with the new credentialing timeframe.