Health Reform

Baltimore HealthCare Access, a nonprofit group that connects city residents with medical care programs in Maryland, will sponsor a community forum today to educate the public on the changes health care reform will bring. The free event, called "Baltimore Health Care Now and Later," will begin with remarks from Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and feature four forums tailored to seniors, business owners and general consumers. The first in a series of quarterly community-outreach events, the event aims to inform consumers and clear up misconceptions about the sweeping national health care overhaul passed last year.

Maryland tapped the nonprofit Seedco to help implement health care reform despite a $1.7 million settlement the agency agreed to in December to resolve a federal fraud suit. The U.S. government sued the agency, saying it defrauded a federal employment program by falsely saying it found jobs for hundreds of New Yorkers. As part of the agreement, Seedco admitted to the false reporting. Maryland health officials announced last week that Seedco, headquartered in New York but with operations in Maryland, was one of six agencies chosen to educate people about reform and help enroll them in health insurance plans.

When I embarked on a new career as a real estate agent, I became an independent contractor. In the world of real estate agencies, there is no employer-provided health insurance. I was faced with the harsh reality that all who are self-employed face: Not only would I have to pay for my health insurance out of my own pocket, I would have to do it with after-tax dollars, essentially adding another 50 percent to the cost of whatever health care plan I chose. So, if I chose a plan that cost $10,000 per year, I would have to earn approximately $15,000 to pay for that plan.

Blaming the cost to implement health care reform, the state's largest health insurer has proposed eye-popping rate increases to state regulators for individuals and small businesses. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield wants to raise rates an average of 25 percent on those who buy coverage individually. Chet Burrell, the insurer's CEO, said the increase was needed to cover the cost of more sick people who will be joining the insurance rolls under health care reform. People with pre-existing conditions were denied coverage prior to health care reform, keeping insurance costs down.

I've devoted the past several months, and every day this week, totally to health care reform. I've attended rallies, met with congressional staff members, made phone calls and marched. Finally, for the first time since the election in Massachusetts, I am cautiously optimistic that we might actually get it done. I'm optimistic because senators like Harry Reid and Chris Dodd are finally speaking publicly, and forcefully, about getting the job done with or without the Republicans. Representatives like Congressman Anthony Weiner are plainly stating the facts on the House floor about our congressional representatives being a subsidiary of the insurance firms.

In a recent article about the health reform law, The Sun quoted small business owner Eric Maynard as objecting to the "employer penalty" of the Affordable Care Act ("Maryland poised for next phase of health reform," June 29). But Mr. Maynard's business has only 26 employees, and the law does not penalize any business with fewer than 50 employees. I think it was The Sun's obligation to point out all the relevant facts in its articles, including that Mr. Maynard's business will not be subject to the employer penalty under the new health reform law. A lack of clear and accurate information hinders the public's capacity to form sensible opinions about public policy.

Maryland voters are supportive of health care reform even though some still haven't grasped all the details, a new survey has found. The survey sponsored by independent health philanthropy The Horizon Foundation and advocacy group Maryland Health Care for All! Coalition , found that those who would gain the most from health reform seemed to know the least about it. The study results were based on a telphone poll of 1,413 voters conducted September 14 to 23. Fifty-nine percent of respondents support health reform, compared to 19 percent who oppose it. The other 22 percent are unsure.

Supporters of health care reform are breathing a sigh of relief after the re-election of President Barack Obama. Challenger Mitt Romney had vowed to repeal the law if elected, but now it is in safer territory. The provision, which requires most people to buy health insurance, was a key initiative of Obama's first term. While there likely won't be a complete overhaul of health reform, funding of the provision could come up in Congress as the country looks to reduce its massive deficit.

With the exciting news that Maryland has received a new federal grant of $123 million to support the establishment of its health benefit exchange - a critical component of President Barack Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - we must continue to use smart strategies to guarantee that as many uninsured Marylanders as possible get the health security the law is designed to provide. And because we know that women make about 80 percent of the health care decisions for their families and are more likely to care for ailing family members, we at the Maryland Women's Coalition for Health Care Reform are urging state and community leaders to engage women in this effort as health care consumers, advocates and educators.

My colleague John Fritze is reporting that the House of Representatives have voted to repeal President Barack Obama's health care reform bill - for the 31st time. The 244 to 185 vote comes just two weeks after the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law. Republicans have pledged to try their best to hurt the law legislatively. Their efforts may prove inconsequential this session, since the issue is not expected to be taken up in the Senate. But they're hoping for better luck after the elections if they are able to gain enough Congressional seats.

A doctor might ask for a patient's family disease history, or exercise or smoking habits, but whether they have trouble getting food onto the table or paying energy bills is unlikely to appear on any clinic questionnaire. Those sorts of factors could have just as much, if not more, of an impact on a person's everyday health, argue the founders of a startup out of the Johns Hopkins University. Their company, Healthify, is giving clinics that serve largely low-income populations the means to gather and use that information.

State lawmakers put finishing touches last week on plans to apply federal health care reforms in Maryland come Jan. 1. But who becomes newly insured — and at what cost —still worries stakeholders as the state speeds toward becoming one of the first to adopt a revamped system. Under legislation passed by the House of Delegates and Senate, more low-income Marylanders would qualify for government-funded health care through Medicaid, and an existing tax on health insurers would sustain a new insurance marketplace once federal support wanes.

This week marks the third anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. For Marylanders, that means a health care system that is stronger than it was three years ago, and a future that looks even brighter. Marylanders who have health insurance now have more security, thanks to new insurance market reforms and consumer protections put into place by the law. Preventive services like mammograms and flu shots are newly available for free to 1.5 million people with private insurance plans. About 48,950 Maryland Medicare beneficiaries with the highest prescription drug costs have saved an average of $768 on their medications.

Dr. Ben Carson says he didn't anticipate the reaction to what he considered his common-sense remarks as keynote speaker this month at the National Prayer Breakfast. But after video went viral of the trailblazing black neurosurgeon taking jabs at Barack Obama's health care overhaul a few feet from the president himself, some want the famed doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore to parlay the attention into a new career: politics. "Here you have this guy who has been a celebrity minority for 30 years coming out and making the conservative case better than a lot of conservatives can," said Jonah Goldberg, editor-at-large for National Review Online.

The federal government announced the creation of 106 new accountable care organziations, including five in Maryland, that will provide coordinated care to Medicare patients. Accountable Care Organizations are groups of doctors, hospitals, clinics and other health care providers created under health reform that work together to care for patients. The hope is that the coordinated care will help reduce medical errors and result in cost savings by  keeping people healthier. More than 250 accountable care organizations have been created around the country since passage of health reform.

Letter writer William Smith is right to point out that Republicans are to blame for the flaws in the nation's health reform law ("Ehrlich denies GOP fault in flawed health care system," Jan. 3). I hope all your readers took note. It's the military's massive waste that is bleeding our economy. It has tanks it doesn't need, planes it doesn't fly and ships it doesn't use. Aircraft carriers and submarines are about all we really need. The Republicans like wars because they can build all these weapons and their rich supporters can make more money.

With the Supreme Court reviewing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), there is no shortage of legal analysis to handicap the decision. But unfortunately, not enough attention has been paid to the real value this law provides to millions of American families and businesses. As governor, I have heard from families unable to purchase coverage at any price because of pre-existing illness, from seniors forced to choose between medications and energy bills and from businesses required to drop employee coverage to stay afloat.

Maryland Health and Mental Hygiene Secretary Joshua M. Sharfstein and his co-authors were right on the money in their recent commentary regarding the importance of making health care more affordable as the state goes about implementing federal health reform ("Caring about costs, too," Sept. 27). We at the Maryland Health Care For All! Coalition applaud his vision and embrace the opportunity to transform Maryland's health care system to reduce costs, improve health outcomes and achieve health equity.

It's difficult to catalogue all the negative impacts of Obamacare in one place. Nevertheless, my readers deserve to know a few of the uglier details as the new year rings in one of the most expensive, convoluted policy experiments in American history. •Lost in the hysteria surrounding Obamacare's 20 new tax increases is the law's surcharge of 0.9 percent on wages and salaries and 3.8 percent on investment income. This is another levy directed at small business owners. You know - the ones who are supposed to ramp up hiring to spark our economic recovery.

Maryland and five other states received conditional federal approval Monday to operate a state exchange, or marketplace where individuals can buy insurance under health care reform. The approval by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services means that Maryland is on track under federal guidelines to operate an exchange during open enrollment next October. Most aspects of health reform will be implemented in 2014. Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington also were approved.