On July 1 our state reached a welcome milestone—fewer than 100 COVID-19 inpatients statewide. That figure has crept above 100 again, but many of your teams—including Frederick Health, Meritus Health, Adventist White Oak Medical Center, Luminis Health, and Suburban Hospital—celebrated a remarkable achievement in recent weeks: Zero COVID inpatients.

It’s working. That’s the assessment of the first two years of our Total Cost of Care Model released Friday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Here in Maryland, we recognize our health care system’s unique ability to rein in total spending and strengthen whole-person care. We as a field have made strides demonstrating the value of the Maryland Model. As we approach important milestones in the effort to gain extension of our contract with the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), we are committed to doing even more to communicate its benefits.

Last Thursday the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a 7-2 decision, rejecting the third challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The court’s majority did not rule on the merits of the case but rather concluded the plaintiffs lacked standing because they weren’t harmed by the ACA provisions they found problematic.