On March 12, several bills regarding the state’s public health system were passed out of the Maryland House of Delegates. The bills were designed to bolster the state’s response to a wide variety of public health topics, ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic, to historic racial disparities in government services, to performance of existing state programs.
Some of the most notable bills included:
- House Bill 28 (sponsored by Delegates Peña-Melnyk and Lewis), which requires applicants for the renewal of a license or certificate issued by a health occupations board to attest to completion of an approved implicit bias training program the first time they renew their license or certificate after April 1, 2022. The legislation also mandates funding levels for the state’s Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities. The bill passed on a 99-36 vote. The Senate cross-file passed 40-6.
- House Bill 78 (sponsored by Delegates Peña-Melnyk and Lewis), which establishes the Maryland Commission on Health Equity to employ a “health equity framework” in specified examinations; provide advice on issues of racial, ethnic, cultural, or socioeconomic health disparities; facilitate coordination of expertise and experience in developing a comprehensive health equity plan addressing the social determinants of health; and set goals for health equity and prepare a plan for the State to achieve health equity in alignment with other statewide planning activities. The legislation also requires the commission to establish an advisory committee on data collection. The bill passed on a 97-39 vote.
- House Bill 123 (sponsored by Delegate Peña-Melnyk), which requires Medicaid to provide health care services appropriately delivered through “telehealth” to program recipients regardless of their location at the time telehealth services are provided and allow a “distant site provider” to provide health care services to a recipient from any location at which the services may be appropriately delivered through telehealth. The legislation also expands the definitions of “telehealth” for both Medicaid and private insurance. The bill was passed unanimously. It also passed unanimously in the Senate.
- House Bill 309 (sponsored by Delegates Peña-Melnyk and Lewis), which requires the Director of the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities (OMHHD) to meet with representatives from the Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) and the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) at least annually to examine the collection of health data that includes race and ethnicity information in the State and identify any changes for improving such data that is accessible by OMHHD. The bill passed on a 128-6 vote.
- House Bill 812 (sponsored by Delegate Cullison), which requires the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) to make recommendations to 2-1-1 Maryland regarding the establishment of an opt-in mental health services phone call program that requires a call center to make periodic calls to persons who have opted into the program and attempts to connect persons with a mental health provider upon request. The bill was passed unanimously.
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