State Legislation Required For Maryland's Howard County Program For Uninsured
Beneficiaries would pay monthly fees ranging from $50 to $85, which would account for 60% of the program's initial budget. The program also would seek $500,000 from the county in its fiscal year 2009 budget and $700,000 in private funds. According to Beilenson, an important feature of the program is Howard County General Hospital's decision to forgive any existing debt Healthy Howard participants have.
If the Maryland General Assembly approves the bill this session, the program would be delayed until Oct. 1 to give state officials time to write the program's regulations, Beilenson said. He added that Healthy Howard cannot be defined as insurance because it would create major financial burdens, such as a requirement for reserve capital. Maryland Insurance Administration spokesperson Karen Barrow said the agency is reviewing the plan to determine whether it is an insurance program. She said, "I believe this is different from anything we've seen," adding, "Perhaps that's why we're needing to set up special rules for it." She said, "We're certainly interested in working with Healthy Howard and the General Assembly to develop the appropriate regulatory scheme" (DeFord, Washington Post, 2/7).
Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Membru legislaþia necesarã pentru Maryland lui Howard judeþ program pentru neasigurate - State Legislation Required For Maryland's Howard County Program For Uninsured - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate