Health Insurance Coverage

Do you think the media attention given to Michael Jackson's death has been excessive? Yes 84% No 15% Not sure 1% (1,342 votes, results not scientific) Next poll: : Would you be willing to pay higher taxes to provide guaranteed, universal health insurance coverage to all Americans? Vote at baltimoresun.com/vote

In the aftermath of the horrific Boston Marathon bombings, stories emerged of moments of mercy and compassion in Boston. Residents took the shaken and wounded into their homes and, in one case, a man literally gave the shirt off his back to a blast victim shivering in shock. Here in Maryland, we also have a story of humanity and generosity to tell. Three were killed and more than 170 injured when the two bombs went off. Among the wounded was Erika Brannock, 29, a resident of Cockeysville in Baltimore County, an Ellicott City native and a graduate of Mount Hebron High School in Howard County.

In the aftermath of the horrific Boston Marathon bombings, stories emerged of moments of mercy and compassion in Boston. Residents took the shaken and wounded into their homes and, in one case, a man literally gave the shirt off his back to a blast victim shivering in shock. Here in Maryland, we also have a story of humanity and generosity to tell. Three were killed and more than 170 injured when the two bombs went off. Among the wounded was Erika Brannock, 29, a resident of Cockeysville in Baltimore County, an Ellicott City native and a graduate of Mount Hebron High School in Howard County.

I cherish my Roman Catholic faith, which supports authentic marriage between one man and one woman. The church's teachings are often misinterpreted to be difficult and countercultural, however they are always grounded in truth. The truth is that marriage is not a right but recognition of the only relationship capable of producing children. Authentic marriage is critical to the health and well being of children. As a physician, I can tell you that the best available published scientific evidence indicates that marriage between one man and one woman in a stable relationship is the optimal situation for healthy development of children.

There is nothing wrong with Carl J. Sardegna's grand vision to transform Maryland Blue Cross and Blue Shield from a non-profit health insurance organization into a competitive health-care management company. But in his zeal to realize this vision, Mr. Sardegna should be careful not to lose sight of the organization's special status as the health insurer of last resort that is supposed to provide affordable health care coverage for Marylanders.When Mr. Sardegna took over the management of the Maryland Blues seven years ago, it was in horrendous financial shape and barely solvent.

MOST AMERICANS agree it is wrong to have rules and laws that single out a person or group and treat them differently from the rest of the population simply because they have a disease. But that is exactly what happens every day to people with alcohol and drug problems. Public and private laws and policies make getting appropriate medical care, housing, or jobs difficult -- frequently impossible -- even years after they have entered recovery. For the past year, we have been part of a national panel reviewing these policies.

The Bush administration claims one of its major achievements to be development of a proposal for expanding health insurance coverage and controlling costs. But the plan wasn't offered until last spring -- too late for serious consideration by Congress before the fall elections.Both President Bush and his Democratic rival Bill Clinton are seeking a mandate from the election for their competing views of how the current health care system should be reformed.The central feature of Mr. Bush's proposal is a tax credit and voucher system to help bring health insurance within reach of those who cannot now afford it. He would finance these benefits largely by controlling the growth of Medicaid, the government health care program for the poor.

The Johns Hopkins Health System has agreed to sell its health maintenance organization to Prudential Insurance, the nation's largest commercial health insurer.Hopkins announced today it has signed a letter of intent with Prudential to sell the HMO for an undisclosed amount. Hopkins officials estimated it will take about three months to get the necessary regulatory approvals and then the HMO will change its name from the Johns Hopkins Health Plan to the Prudential Health Care Plan Inc., which trades as PruCare.

WASHINGTON -- Health-care costs rose more than twice as fast as the earnings of working Americans in the past decade, and the current medical insurance system has been increasingly unable to keep pace, witnesses told a Senate committee yesterday.While medical costs rose 10.4 percent, annual average pay increased just 4 percent, the witnesses said, noting that health-care costs are now gobbling up almost 12 percent of the gross national product."The system is bankrupt -- and its consequences are literally bankrupting many American families," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.

I cherish my Roman Catholic faith, which supports authentic marriage between one man and one woman. The church's teachings are often misinterpreted to be difficult and countercultural, however they are always grounded in truth. The truth is that marriage is not a right but recognition of the only relationship capable of producing children. Authentic marriage is critical to the health and well being of children. As a physician, I can tell you that the best available published scientific evidence indicates that marriage between one man and one woman in a stable relationship is the optimal situation for healthy development of children.

Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s recent column on health care shows a talent for bending facts to fit ideology ("A blow to employer-based coverage," April 1). He quotes a 2011 analysis by McKinsey & Company that the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) would decrease the number of employers who offer health insurance. He failed to mention that this report was one outlier among a number of other economic reports done by independent think tanks (Rand, Urban), the Congressional Budget Office and a health benefits firm (Mercer)

Do you think the media attention given to Michael Jackson's death has been excessive? Yes 84% No 15% Not sure 1% (1,342 votes, results not scientific) Next poll: : Would you be willing to pay higher taxes to provide guaranteed, universal health insurance coverage to all Americans? Vote at baltimoresun.com/vote

Raymundo Martinez just wanted a new watch. His plan was to pick one out at Wal-Mart, then ride his bike home to change for a gathering with other summer exchange students. He got the watch, but never made it to the party. Martinez, an architecture student from the Dominican Republic, was biking along eastbound U.S. 50 outside Ocean City when he was struck by a taxicab, suffering catastrophic injuries. His skull and facial bones were so badly damaged that one doctor said they were like a bowl of crushed ice. His left eye had burst and his lungs were punctured.

Gov. Martin O'Malley said yesterday that he wants his new insurance commissioner to advocate for consumers in the face of the industry's "powerful special interests," a tactic he said was necessary to reverse a pro-industry bias that prevailed over the past four years. The governor likened his appointment of Ralph S. Tyler to be Maryland's head insurance regulator to his efforts to remake the Public Service Commission into a more consumer-friendly body, a change Tyler helped engineer. The governor said Tyler would "really stand up for consumers and working people in our state" in an arena in which they need the government's help.

He's been David to so many Goliaths. Every time someone says he can't possibly overcome one force or another, he smiles and turns to his well-tended list of volunteers around the state. Or he trots out a poll showing that many Marylanders want stricter gun control, how they agree that big corporations should provide more and better health coverage for workers, or how many of them back a higher tax on cigarettes to expand health insurance coverage. He helps legislators see that a vote for his initiatives is smart politics.

Extending the battle over the impact of the new HMO premium tax, a Baltimore County Democrat urged her state Senate colleagues yesterday to support a measure blocking insurers' ability to increase rates without regulatory review. The state insurance commissioner should be required to look at "soaring profits" and lavish executive pay, and to hold a public hearing before allowing health maintenance organizations to increase premium rates, Sen. Delores G. Kelley told the Senate Finance Committee.

Opponents of proposed cuts to state health programs criticized Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. yesterday for threatening drastic reductions in medical services for the poor. Members of Health Care for All Coalition, a nonprofit organization that advocates for improving health care coverage for Marylanders, gathered for a news conference and rally at the Men's Health Center on North Avenue with several elected officials and public health leaders. The group is trying to garner opposition to the state Health Department's proposed $480 million in cuts that, if enacted, would make thousands of children ineligible for free health insurance coverage and close four mental health facilities.

I am a retiree planning some extensive travel in Europe and Asia. Are there any Medicare-approved hospitals abroad?The only countries outside the United States in which Medicare provides coverage are Canada and Mexico.Even in those countries, Medicare, which helps pay for health-care services for people 65 and older and some disabled people, requires that the foreign hospital be closer and more accessible than the nearest U.S. hospital equipped to treat a patient.For Canadian coverage, at the time of the emergency a patient must be in Canada or traveling via Canada between Alaska and another state by the most direct route.

Opponents of proposed cuts to state health programs criticized Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. yesterday for threatening drastic reductions in medical services for the poor. Members of Health Care for All Coalition, a nonprofit organization that advocates for improving health care coverage for Marylanders, gathered for a news conference and rally at the Men's Health Center on North Avenue with several elected officials and public health leaders. The group is trying to garner opposition to the state Health Department's proposed $480 million in cuts that, if enacted, would make thousands of children ineligible for free health insurance coverage and close four mental health facilities.

MOST AMERICANS agree it is wrong to have rules and laws that single out a person or group and treat them differently from the rest of the population simply because they have a disease. But that is exactly what happens every day to people with alcohol and drug problems. Public and private laws and policies make getting appropriate medical care, housing, or jobs difficult -- frequently impossible -- even years after they have entered recovery. For the past year, we have been part of a national panel reviewing these policies.