Maryland Governor Approves State Healthcare Legislation

April 2018 ~

The Governor of Maryland has signed legislation which seeks to stabilize the state’s insurance market for individuals and hold down expected rate increases.

The legislation received final General Assembly approval in late March and creates a reinsurance program that will be run by the state’s Health Benefits Exchange to protect insurers against catastrophically expensive claims. Under the reinsurance program, health insurers will be required to pay $380 million in taxes over the next year to help maintain premiums for those in the individual insurance market.

Additionally, the Governor approved a second bill that, if passed, would require the state’s health exchange to apply for a federal waiver that would provide long-term funding for the reinsurance program, as several other states have done. The bill would also require that a Maryland state panel examine whether to adopt a state-based individual health insurance mandate.

Source(s): The Kansas City Star; Union Leader; The Washington Post; Baltimore Sun; Marland.gov;
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