Health Plan

Republican state legislators said yesterday that Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposal to expand health care programs is ill-timed and merely a political carrot to draw votes for a deficit-reduction plan that raises a number of taxes. O'Malley called the Maryland General Assembly into a special session this week to plug a projected $1.7 billion gap for the fiscal year that begins in July, and legislative committees have begun to delve into various aspects of his plan. A joint Senate-House hearing addressed the governor's health care proposal, which could eventually expand government-funded programs so that more than 100,000 residents can obtain insurance.

The Baltimore County Department of Health will hold three flu shot clinics for county residents who are 6 months and older. The first will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. today at Oregon Ridge Park Lodge, 13401 Beaver Dam Road, Cockeysville. The second will be from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Essex Health Center, 1538 Country Ridge Lane. The third is scheduled for 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 28 at Winands Road Synagogue Center, 8701 Winands Road, Randallstown. Shots cost $30. Those with Medicare Part B can receive free shots (bring your Medicare card)

WASHINGTON -- With the chances looking slim that Congress will be able to override President Bush's veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program expansion this week, leaders on Capitol Hill and at the White House are bracing for a potentially bruising round of negotiations to keep current recipients covered. The popular program for moderate-income families expires in mid-November, and both sides face pressure to reach a deal that maintains funding. But they remain far apart on the costs of a program that Democrats and some Republicans want to expand by millions of children and tens of billions of dollars.

There's nothing more important than your health. It sounds like something a parent would say. But, now, many employers seem to be just as concerned. This fall during open enrollment, the period when workers can re-elect or pick new company benefits, you may find several changes in health-plan options, all stressing healthier lifestyles - and fewer costly claims. "Companies want to get employees more involved in managing their health care," said Scott Ziemba, a senior consultant at Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc., a human resources consulting firm.

WASHINGTON -- Health officials in Maryland and other states are scrambling to respond to new Bush administration rules that could effectively end subsidized medical insurance for thousands of children. State officials plotted strategy in a conference call yesterday and are reaching out to governors and congressional allies for help. They hope to block new regulations that limit eligibility for the State Children's Health Insurance Program, a Clinton administration-era partnership between state and federal governments that, supporters say, provides a critical safety net for hundreds of thousands of families.

WASHINGTON -- The Senate followed the House late yesterday in approving by a 68-31 vote a major expansion of a popular children's health care program, but a veto threat by President Bush and deep conservative opposition remained huge obstacles. Yet it did not appear to be a vote exclusively about the program known as SCHIP, which stands for the State Children's Health Insurance Program, created in 1997 during the Clinton administration. To many observers, the SCHIP votes in the House and Senate served as early tests of far-reaching legislation to provide universal health insurance coverage for all Americans, a goal pushed by a number of Democratic presidential candidates.

As part of "Celebrate Merriweather," a daylong family festival marking Columbia's 40th birthday, Howard County General Hospital will hold a Community Health Fair from noon to 5 p.m. July 15 at Merriweather Post Pavilion. About 70 exhibitors will provide screenings and health and safety information. Local nonprofit organizations will provide information on services available in the community. The fair, which is being held on the final day of Columbia's birthday celebration, will be in Merriweather Post Pavilion's VIP parking area; signs will guide motorists to the VIP parking lot. Admission is free.

For many new college graduates, a reward for four years of hard work is being kicked off their parents' health insurance the day they put on their cap and gown. Unless they buy a policy or have lined up a job with insurance, they face paying their medical bills out of pocket. Thanks to a new law in Maryland, though, this rite of passage will end for many families here beginning next year. Maryland is joining a dozen other states in allowing some parents to keep dependent, unmarried children under age 25 on their health insurance.

After two years of sampling streams, cataloging aquatic life, and monitoring runoff from farms and homes throughout the Deer Creek watershed in Harford County, researchers who conducted a federally funded study have deemed the area healthy and proposed a plan to keep it that way as the county develops. Harford officials unveiled the plan this week, a nearly 100-page document that calls for effective farm management practices, buffer plantings along streams, land preservation and public education as key tools in the effort to protect the 171-square-mile watershed.

A major source of health insurance for people who work for themselves has all but disappeared, casting thousands of contractors, freelancers and solo practitioners into the ranks of the uninsured with little hope of obtaining new coverage. Health plans offered by professional associations once were havens for millions of people who couldn't obtain coverage anywhere else. But, as medical costs have soared, groups representing professions as varied as law and golf have been forced to stop offering the benefit or have been dropped by insurers.