6 The Hampton Roads Messenger


Volume 7 Number 8


Maryland Takes Lead on Health Care Reform


BY KHALIL ABDULLAH BALTIMORE -- As one of


America's top 10 wealthiest states and one that trends heavily Democratic, Maryland was among the nation's first to move full throttle to implement the Affordable Care Act.


The decision puts the state


well out ahead in expanding access to some 300,000 people who will qualify for free or subsidized health insurance as of 2014, according to Suzanne Schlattman, Deputy Director for Development and Community Outreach, Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative Education Fund, Inc.


“Because we acted so early, we


didn't get weighed down in the political rhetoric that other states got weighed down in,” she said.


At a newsmaker briefing for ethnic


media representatives, Schlattman joined Danielle Davis, Director of Communications, Outreach and Training, Maryland Citizens’ Health Benefit Exchange (MHBE), and Leigh Cobb, Health Policy Director, Advocates for Children and Youth, to describe the benefits the law will bring.


First and foremost are those


low-income residents who earn up to $15,400 per year (roughly 133% of the federal poverty line) -- or a family of four who earn up to $32,000 per year -- and will qualify under Medicaid's expanded eligibility


explained. Since August, 2012, some Maryland health policy holders have been receiving an average of $200 to $300 in rebates from their insurance companies.


And perhaps best known of the


benefits -- young adults can stay on their parents' insurance plans until age 26, a year longer than what current Maryland law allows. Now under the ACA, federal employees and the self-insured also will be able to cover their children up to age 26.


Leigh Cobb of Advocates for


Children and Youth, pointed out that the law also extends Medicaid coverage to former foster youth up to age 26 with no income restrictions. Thus, beginning in 2014, youth who were enrolled in Medicaid when they aged out of the foster care system will be eligible for health coverage through Medicaid, giving them some parity with those young adults who are currently able to remain on their parents’ plans until age 26.


criteria.


The covered population includes low-income adults without children, who had previously been excluded by Medicaid's guidelines.


Another key group of consumers


will be eligible to receive federal subsidies to assist in their purchase of health insurance if they have none or if they receive no assistance through their employer.


Altogether, says Schlattman,


through the ACA the state will nearly halve its 600,000 to 700,000 who are uninsured in Maryland's overall population of 5.9 million.


Thanks to a consumer's bill of


rights included in the law, Schlattman says, many residents of the state already have new benefits they haven't had until the ACA was enacted. Part of the state’s challenge is getting residents to know what those benefits are and how to access them.


So, for example, any new


insurance plan issued after ACA was passed on March 23, 2010 cannot deny children benefits because of pre existing health conditions -- a benefit that will also apply to adults as of Jan.1 , 2014. Nor can insurers rescind a policy if someone becomes ill.


Consumers also cannot be charged


a co-pay by insurers for preventive health care services like vaccinations or cancer screenings. The full menu of what qualifies as a preventive service is determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Task Force.


ACA also put into place an


insurance rebate policy called the 80-20 rule. "If insurers spend less than 80 percent of what you pay them in your monthly premiums on your actual health care, they owe you the difference in a rebate," Schlattman


The ACA provision stipulates that


former foster youth who aged out of the system as long ago as 2007 will be eligible for these benefits starting in January—as long as they are still under age 26. Cobb expressed concern, however, that those former foster care youth who have already “aged-out” of foster care may not be aware that he or she can qualify for Medicaid coverage up until age 26. “We really need to reach out to those young adults who don't know about this program,” Cobb said.


Cobb said another challenge for


Maryland is expanding access to oral health care. “Marylanders were initially very excited that pediatric dental care was identified as an ‘essential health benefit’ under the ACA, however, under federal regulations issued by HHS, benefits will not be offered in all qualified health plans, will be priced separately when they are offered, and families will not be required to purchase them”, she said. Since the death of a Prince George's County 12 year-old six years ago because of an untreated tooth infection, Maryland has become much more focused on the importance of oral health care and has come a long way in making pediatric dental care available through state programs.


Davis of MHBE, said by ramping


up quickly, Maryland qualified for over $157 million in a combination of federal grants that helped fund strategic planning, IT assessment, policy research and recommendations on how to organize and implement an ACA-friendly infrastructure -- and a robust engagement of advisory councils representing the state's business, social, faith-based and health advocacy constituencies.


Maryland Health Benefit Exchange will be open for enrollment


HEALTH CARE PAGE 15


HU Student Receives HHMI Gilliam Award for Doctoral Study


Hampton, Va.- Hampton


University senior Kayla Lee has received one of nine 2013 Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study awarded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). The awards provide full support to outstanding students in their pursuit of doctoral degrees in life sciences.


HHMI awards Gilliam


fellows $46,500 a year for up to four years. The program's goal is to improve the diversity of college and university faculty members by supporting students from groups traditionally under- represented in the sciences. Lee is a biology major interested in studying genetics and molecular biology.


“Kayla’s superb performance


in the Hampton University HHMI program and the Exceptional Research Opportunity program positioned her to receive the prestigious Gilliam Fellowship,” stated Dr. Edison Fowlks, HU professor and director of the HU HHMI program. “Kayla and recent scholars of the HHMI program are helping us to meet one of our goals, of increasing the entry of graduates into biology, computer science, mathematics and engineering Ph.D. programs."


The HU HHMI laboratory


allows students to focus on areas of emerging biology like genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, systems biology, molecular evolution and metagenomics. HU also offers a five-week pre-freshman summer program for incoming freshmen students interested in biology, computer science, engineering or mathematics. The primary goal of the program is to increase the number of students


Transportation Plan FROM PAGE 1


muster with Republican Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli, who last week called the uneven taxes — imposed by the General Assembly on the Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads areas — unconstitutional.


McDonnell satisfied Cuccinelli’s


office by tweaking the bill’s language so localities can impose taxes only if they meet certain congestion criteria — criteria that only Northern Virginia and the Hampton Roads regions meet.


Here are the governor’s criteria


for regions to qualify for additional local taxes for transportation:


• • • have a population of 1.5 million


or more have at least 1.2 million vehicles


registered have transit ridership of at least


15 million “Based on our preliminary review,


the governor’s amendments address the constitutional concerns we have raised,” Cuccinelli said in a statement.


But McDonnell has dissenters.


April 2013


pursuing graduate training leading to Ph.D. degrees and careers.


“My introduction to Dr. Fowlks


and the HU HHMI program during my freshman year at Hampton University opened the doors to incredible opportunities, stated Lee, who will attend Harvard University in the fall. “His mentorship has had an amazing impact in helping me understand scientific research and meeting many other scientists, which was essential in receiving the Gilliam Fellowship.”


Established in 2004, HHMI has


committed nearly $13.2 million to the Gilliam program. In addition to financial support, fellows also attend meetings with HHMI scientists and receive professional development mentoring as they launch their academic careers.


In 2008, HHMI awarded the HU


Department of Biology $1.2 million to support the department with faculty development opportunities, an updated biology curriculum, a renovated laboratory and the development of a modern student research and training laboratory.


“I still think it’s unconstitutional,”


said Keith Freeman, chairman of the Hampton Roads Tea Party.


The General Assembly still


doesn’t hold the power to tax some localities and not others, like they are “second-class,” Freeman said. And besides, smaller localities reap “dis- proportional” benefits from larger ones, he said.


“It’s a state issue, so I don’t’ see


any reason why the state shouldn’t pay for the improvements as a whole,” Freeman said.


McDonnell did, however, put a


“lock box” on transportation funds, saying the taxes and fees in the bill expire if the General Assembly uses them for any non-transportation items.


Now that Richmond’s


transportation coffers will be full, the question is how political leaders will use them, said Mike Thompson, president of the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy.


“I think the proof is going to be


in the pudding now,” Thompson told Watchdog.org. “Now that you’ve got the money, it’s going to be up to the next one or two governors to be sure it’s not wasted.”


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