Hospital billing and collection practices are in the news a lot lately, often misinformed and sensational. Maryland legislators are paying attention. Legislative action is coming this General Assembly session on hospitals’ cost transparency, financial assistance policies, and account collection practices.

Maryland’s hospitals and health systems are getting it right. More validation keeps rolling in. The message is resonating in Annapolis, where it really counts.

It’s likely by now, nearly four weeks into 2020, that many of us already have given up on our New Year’s resolutions. Those well-intentioned goals to eat better, work out more and invest more time and energy into our physical and mental well-being already have been replaced by stresses at work and home that make these new habits seem impossible to form.

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Fact: victims of human trafficking are seen in our hospitals and other sites of care every day. Your caregivers are on the front lines of this crisis. Studies show with certainty that survivors of trafficking are likely to have contact with the health care system during their abuse.