O'Malley/Brown Release Detailed Plan To Make Health Insurance More Affordable For Maryland Families

Establishes Statewide Purchasing Pool to Reduce Costs and Number of Uninsured

BALTIMORE, MD (July 12, 2006) – Today, Martin O’Malley and Anthony Brown unveiled a detailed plan to address the skyrocketing costs of health insurance for Maryland’s hardworking families. The plan, which is part of a multi-pronged strategy to address issues of affordability, access, and healthcare quality to be announced over the next two weeks, would establish a small business purchasing pool to allow businesses to share risk and reduce health insurance premiums for working Marylanders. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 61% of Marylanders get their insurance from their employer.

“There’s no reason that in a state with the resources of Maryland that so many hardworking families are struggling to keep up with the cost of health care,� said Martin O’Malley. “By reducing health insurance costs for small businesses, we can help make health care more affordable for hardworking Marylanders.�

Over the last four years, Maryland has seen a sharp increase in the number of uninsured residents because of the soaring costs of health care. According to the United States Census, the number of uninsured residents in Maryland has increased by more than 160,000 from approximately 650,000 in March 2002 to 810,000 in March 2005.

According to the Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC), 87 percent of the state’s uninsured live in households with at least one working adult, and currently only 40 percent of small businesses with 50 or fewer employees provide health insurance for their employees. Several studies have shown that the rising cost of health care is the number one concern for small business owners.

By establishing a statewide purchasing pool, more small businesses would offer health insurance to their employees and their families, reducing the number of uninsured in the State of Maryland. The plan also calls for working with the General Assembly to examine tax incentives to attract more small businesses to join the pool to further reduce costs.

According to one business owner who participated in the kitchen table talk with O’Malley and Brown, the O’Malley/Brown plan offers real incentives for businesses who want to participate in the purchasing pool to bring their health insurance costs down.