BAYADA’s primary goal this session was to pass legislation requiring the state to evaluate disabled children’s and adults’ access to home health care.  We built a coalition, developed a persuasive body of research, and educated key legislators about low Medicaid rates and the desperate need for more LPNs in home care.  In the final hour of the year’s legislative session, the bill passed unanimously.  We know that disabled children and adults in Maryland are routinely going without the care they need.  The task force this bill establishes, and the report that they will publish, will allow us to advocate for greatly increased Medicaid rates in the coming months.  This is an important step forward to bring reliable, high quality home healthcare to more Marylanders.

Thank you Delegate Kirill Reznik and Senator Steve Waugh for supporting home care by sponsoring this bill!

In other news:

• MINIMUM WAGE- A proposal to increase the state minimum wage to $15 failed. The issue will likely be back for consideration in 2019. A previously-scheduled increase to $10.10 this summer will still occur.
• SICK LEAVE- A statewide sick leave mandate passed last session, which Gov. Hogan vetoed. This session, the legislature overrode the veto and put the mandate into effect as of February 11. BAYADA’s LS and POL groups have made sure that BAYADA is in compliance.
• HEALTH INSURANCE- In reaction to federal elimination of the individual mandate and some health insurance market funding, the state took steps to stabilize individual marketplace health insurance premium rates and will evaluate proposals to encourage younger, healthier people to buy health insurance.
• PRESCRIPTION DRUGS- An effort to prevent price-gouging for prescription drugs failed. A separate bill that allows pharmacists to tell consumers about lower-cost drug options passed.