Maryland health insurance

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status report:
Maryland state health insurance exchange

What progress is being made in setting up its federally-mandated Maryland state health insurance exchange?"

About state health insurance exchanges

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How did Maryland officials vote on health reform?

H.R.2: Repealing the Health Care Bill

#14

Date of Vote: 1/19/2011 Status: House passed 245-189, 1 not voting

HOUSE|SENATE

1/19/2011--Passed House amended. Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act - Repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, effective as of its enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by such Act. Repeals the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective as of the Act's enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by the Act's health care provisions. [more]

Yes (2)

• Roscoe Bartlett
• Andy Harris

Our
Pick

No (6)

• Elijah Cummings
• Donna Edwards

• Steny Hoyer
• C.A. Ruppersberger

• John Sarbanes
• Christopher Van Hollen

how healthy is living in Maryland?

Maryland has stayed consistent from last year's ranking as the 23rd healthiest state to live in, according to the 2010 America's Health Rankings® by the United Health Foundation.

The good news:

• Maryland was praised this year for its low percentage of children in poverty, its low prevalence of smoking (down to 15.1 percent from last year’s 19.5 percent), and its high availability of primary care physicians as well as its high immunization rate for children between the ages of 19 to 35 months.
• The number of preventable hospitalizations decreased in the past year.
• Deaths due to both cancer and cardiovascular disease experienced a decrease over the past ten years.

The bad news:

• Maryland's violent crime rate is one of the highest in the nation, with 590 offenses per 100,000 population.
• It also demonstrates a relatively high rate of infectious disease, with 32.8 cases per 100,000 individuals.
• The state was also cited for a high infant mortality rate, with 8 deaths in every 1,000 live births.

Maryland's best and worst category rankings:

• Primary care physicians – 2nd
• Children in poverty – 5th
• Prevalence of smoking – 6th
• Infant mortality – 41st
• Violent crime – 42nd
• Infectious disease – 50th

more details

• See the United Health Foundation's latest findings on Maryland.
• Trust for America's Health ia another source for key Maryland health quality findings. In addition, 2010's federal health reform, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), included the creation of a prevention fund to provide more than $16 billion over the next 10 years to invest in effective, proven prevention efforts, like childhood obesity prevention and tobacco cessation, and the site has a report on how it impacts Maryland here.

get local health results

State snapshot too large? Get county-by-county health rankings for Maryland, from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Population Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin.

does Maryland have a health insurance high risk pool?

Maryland Health Insurance Plan
Toll-free 1-888-444-9016 (M-F 8am-5pm)

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Starting in 2010, Maryland started offering health care insurance coverage to residents through the federally established temporary high-risk pool program. To find out more about Maryland's participation, click here.

Risk pools are state-sponsored programs to help people with a history of medical problems in their family to purchase coverage. These pools are for people who can afford to buy health insurance, but are not able to get underwritten in the private market because of a pre-existing health condition. These programs can vary significantly from state to state in price, benefits and number of people served. Often insurance companies doing business in the state are required to contribute to the pool to keep it in the black. In the best cases, they allow people to be able to switch jobs or become self-employed without the fear of losing their health insurance coverage. Read more about risk pools here.

how to find health insurance in Maryland

Cover The Uninsured is a national effort to highlight the fact that too many Americans are living without health insurance and to demand solutions from our nation's leaders. Read more information on its efforts. It is a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

• Cover The Uninsured's facts on the uninsured in Maryland and all other states.
• The Foundation for Health Coverage Education's guide on how to find health insurance in Maryland.
• Materiales En Español – Guías para encontrar cobertura de seguro de salud.

Georgetown's Maryland health insurance guide

Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute has researched and written state-by-state guides for finding and keeping health insurance. It updates these guides as federal and state policies change. A number of non-profit organizations help fund its research. Learn more about the Health Policy Institute.

Review Georgetown's guide for Maryland.

Health insurance plan report cards for Maryland

The National Committee for Quality Assurance is a private, non-profit organization that, among other things, provides health care plan report cards for consumers.

Go here to search for Maryland health insurance plan report cards.

Maryland government health insurance resources

Maryland Health Care Commission – links to consumer guide to health insurance, provided by the State of Maryland.

Maryland Medical Assistance Program Рproviding access to health care services for many of the state’s low-income residents. Individuals may be eligible for services through the Maryland Medicaid Program, the Maryland Children’s Health Program or the Maryland Primary Adult Care Program (PAC).

Maryland Children's Health Program (MCHP) – uses federal and state funds to provide health care coverage to low-income children 18 and under and pregnant women of any age.