Maryland County Plan To Provide Coordinated Care for Uninsured Delayed by Three Months
The launch of a Howard County, Md., health access program has been delayed for three months to Oct. 1 because legislation is needed to exempt the program from state insurance regulations, the Baltimore Sun reports (Carson, Baltimore Sun, 1/18). The Healthy Howard program aims to provide affordable and coordinated health care to uninsured residents who are not eligible for state and federal programs. To be eligible for the county's program, individuals must have lived in the county for at least one year and must have been uninsured for a year (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 10/18/07).
Howard County Health Officer Peter Beilenson said that the state must pass legislation to ensure that the program would not be required to have multimillion-dollar reserve funds that insurance companies are required to have. Howard County officials say that the program is not insurance, and the legislation -- which will be worded to describe the Healthy Howard program but could be replicated by other local jurisdictions -- would allow the program to operate without following the state regulation. Beilenson said, "There's no reason to think it's controversial. It's to make sure there's no question the insurance administration won't have a problem with us when it starts."
Karen Barrow, a spokesperson for state insurance Commissioner Ralph Tyler, said, "We are continuing to gather information to make a final determination as to whether this program is insurance."
The bill will need to be approved by the state General Assembly and Gov. Martin O'Malley (D). If approved, the law would take effect June 1. Enrollment in the program would begin July 1, with coverage for beneficiaries beginning Oct. 1 (Baltimore Sun, 1/18).
