Maryland Advocacy Group Asks Gubernatorial, Legislative Candidates To Endorse Three-Part Health Proposal

The Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative on July 9 asked state gubernatorial and legislative candidates to endorse the group's three-part health plan, the Baltimore Sun reports. The group, which supports legislation to provide health coverage for Maryland's 650,000 uninsured residents, has asked candidates to support proposals to increase the state's cigarette tax by 36 cents per pack to raise funds for public health programs; to negotiate discounts on medications for the state's seniors and residents without prescription drug coverage; and to block the conversion of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield from a not-for-profit to a for-profit health insurer. Vincent DeMarco, the group's executive director, said, "These are good policy and smart politics. If the people of Maryland know how the candidates stand, they will choose the candidates who support these issues." Neither of the two leading gubernatorial candidates -- Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D) and Rep. Robert Ehrlich (R) -- have agreed to support the three-part plan advocated by the group. A spokesperson for Kennedy Townsend said that she has made similar promises to reduce prescription drug prices and to block the CareFirst conversion but "rejected any tax increases for next year," the Sun reports. An Ehrlich spokesperson said the lawmaker plans to review the plan and will respond by Aug. 27, a date set by the group. According to the Sun, "it's not clear how many" legislative candidates will endorse the plan. State House Speaker Casper Taylor (D) said that legislative candidates should not "box themselves in" on health issues before the legislative session begins. He added, "I just find it irresponsible for [DeMarco] or anybody else to be asking potential policymakers to make these kinds of premature conclusions before they have ever been exposed to the intense research and education that goes into the legislative process" (Libit, Baltimore Sun, 7/10). Last month, Taylor unveiled a proposal to provide health coverage to the uninsured based on an expansion of Medicaid coverage (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 6/27).