Published: October 10, 2008 08:54 am         

Programs make more Marylanders eligible for insurance

CUMBERLAND — More residents will have the opportunity to receive health insurance through new state programs, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Secretary John Colmers said Thursday at the Allegany County Health Department.

“Health care is important,” Colmers said. “It’s something that protects us as a community. We pay for the uninsured in unseen ways in taxes and health insurance premiums. It is not only the right thing to do, it’s the wise thing to do.”

Colmers was in Allegany County to “spread the word” about the new Working Families and Small Business Coverage Act, which was passed during the 2007 special session of the General Assembly in November.

The coverage act is divided into two sections, Medical Assistance to Families, which is a Medicaid expansion that provides eligible parents with comprehensive health care, and the Health Insurance Partnership, which helps lower the cost of health insurance to small employers.

Colmers commended the amount of work that employees of the health department have done to get people in the county enrolled in the program and their willingness to work within the private sector in a partnership.

He said the realization came that while the state of Maryland is considered the most wealthy in the nation, according to the 2000 census, it had one of the worst eligibility programs. A family once had to make an annual income of $7,000 or less to qualify, but that has changed to incomes up to about $20,500 with the new plan.

As part of his visit to the health department, Colmers presented Angel Brown of Cumberland and her daughter Beatrice with a Maryland Medical Assistance Card.

“I want to say thank you for getting this health care because it was so difficult to get someone to see us and take care of all our needs,” Brown said.

Brown added that with this program accepting parents, it is more likely that more children will be covered as well.

Colmers said he felt it would as well, as many parents may not know of the state programs available to have their children receive health insurance, but would be able to get their children into a health care program once they, themselves, have tried to qualify.

Adrienne Summers, a business owner in Jefferson, Frederick County, also spoke on how the new Health Insurance Partnership will help businesses thrive and provide necessary benefits to their employees.

The partnership is an effort of the state’s to work with the private sector to provide less costly health insurance benefits for small businesses to offer, not a state-run health insurance program.

“If you are a small business, please explore the opportunities that exist with this program,” Summers said. “(Having insurance) maintains health care and prevents the detrimental ruin that being uninsured brings to many families.”

Contact Sarah Moses at smoses@times-news.com.