legislative
This is where MHAMD supporters can find weekly updates from Annapolis when the Maryland General Assembly is in session. Weekly updates from the most recent legislative session are available below.
A 2012 Preliminary Legislative Wrap Up is available here
You can also take advantage of various other legislative resources by clicking on the links to the left. From our comprehensive Advocacy Guide to our year-round policy alerts, MHAMD strives to bring you the most up-to-date information concerning mental health policy.
Questions? Concerns? Contact:
Dan Martin
Director of Public Policy
(410) 235-1178 ext. 208
____________________________________________
2012 Weekly Legislative Reports from Annapolis
March 12, 2012
As you may know, a Senate budget subcommittee voted last week on recommended cuts to mental health funding. While the public mental health system was spared in some instances, the Senate subcommittee did agree to cuts totaling $2.25 million. The House Subcommittee on Health and Human Resources (HHR) will vote this Wednesday on the same recommendations. If you haven’t already, please contact the House Subcommittee members NOW and urge them to reject all cuts to mental health! A recent MHAMD budget alert is attached to assist you. It outlines the proposed reductions and lists contact information for HHR members. It is crucial they hear from you before Wednesday!
The 2012 legislative session is 2/3 complete. In addition to the normal bill hearings, legislators are voting more frequently on bills that have been before their committee. Below you will find a sampling of bill hearings MHAMD is focused on this week and the current status of several bills we have worked on this session. The complete list is attached.
Also this week, MHAMD will attend the Behavioral Health Kick-Off Meeting this Wednesday, March 14. This is the first step in a new process to integrate mental health and substance abuse services in Maryland. More information on this process is available on the DHMH Behavioral Health Site on Integration.
Bill Hearings
HB 679 MHAMD supports this bill to expand the role of the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities. [Tuesday, March 13 – 1:00pm – Health and Government Operations Committee]
HB 780 MHAMD supports this bill establishing a workgroup to recommend ways to strengthen cultural competency and health literacy training and assessments. [Tuesday, March 13 – 1:00pm – Health and Government Operations Committee]
SB 671 MHAMD supports this bill preventing inquiries into the criminal records of applicants for certain State jobs until after the applicant has been provided the opportunity for an interview. This is the Senate version of a bill MHAMD supported last week. [Thursday, March 15 – 1:00pm – Finance Committee]
Bill Status Update
HB 53 MHAMD supports this bill enhancing Maryland’s community college tuition exemption for disabled individuals. The bill received unanimous support in the House of Delegates and awaits a hearing in the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee.
HB 286/SB 484 MHAMD supports these bills requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to publish on its website the Medical Loss Ratios for each Medicaid Managed Care Organization. The bills received unanimous support in their respective chambers of origin and now await crossover hearings.
SB 167 MHAMD supports this bill extending the tax credit for employers who hire people with disabilities. The bill received unanimous support in the Senate and awaits a hearing in the House Ways and Means Committee.
Further information about the material above is available on the Maryland General Assembly website at http://mlis.state.md.us/index.html
February 13, 2012
Thanks to everyone that attended the 2012 MHAMD Annual Legislative Reception. Your support for our event provides vital resources in the ongoing effort to protect and enhance access to mental health services. A packed house received a briefing on Missouri’s Behavioral Health Home and listened to state and national experts discuss the future of health care in Maryland as we better integrate mental health, addiction and somatic care. We closed the night by recognizing those who have made a difference for people living with mental illness. Awardees included State Senator Edward Kasemeyer, former DHMH Secretary John Colmers, and Diane Cabot, former Executive Director of the Mental Health Association of Metro Baltimore, who was posthumously presented with the Paula Hamburger Award honoring a champion for children. Again, thanks for coming out and we look forward to seeing you again next year!
MHAMD testified last Friday at the Mental Hygiene Administration budget hearing in the Senate and will do so again today before the Subcommittee on Health and Human Resources [House Appropriations Committee]. Already facing numerous destructive cost containment measures and flat community service funding in the Governor’s proposed FY 2013 budget, a Department of Legislative Services budget analyst recommended on Friday an additional $2.9 million in reductions to MHA. Be on the lookout for future action alerts as budget negotiations progress and if you haven’t already, please help us fight to restore mental health funding by completing the alert we issued last week!
Bill introduction deadlines have come and went so committee hearings are increasing weekly. Below is a sampling of bills MHAMD is focused on this week. A complete list is available here.
Bill Hearings
SB 484 MHAMD supports this bill requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to publish on its website the medical loss ratios for each Medicaid Managed Care Organization. This is the Senate version of a bill MHAMD supported last week in the House. [Wednesday, February 15 – 1:00pm – Finance Committee]
SB 277 MHAMD supports this bill prohibiting landlords and sellers from discriminating against prospective tenants based on the source of their income. This is the Senate version of a bill MHAMD supported last week in the House. [Wednesday, February 15 – 1pm – Judicial Proceedings Committee]
SB 298 MHAMD opposes this bill authorizing a court to hold a new hearing to receive additional evidence and testimony on a recommendation as to whether a person previously found not criminally responsible is eligible for discharge or conditional release from commitment. This is the Senate version of a bill MHAMD opposed earlier this year. [Thursday, February 16 – 1pm – Judicial Proceedings Committee]
Further information about the material above is available on the Maryland General Assembly website at http://mlis.state.md.us/index.html
February 6, 2012
The MHAMD 2012 Annual Legislative Reception is just two days away! If you haven’t already, please register and join us this Wednesday, February 8 at the Westin in Annapolis. With a focus on behavioral health reform efforts in Maryland, MHAMD is pleased to welcome Dr. Joe Parks, Division Director of the Missouri Department of Mental Health, one of the architects of the first CMS-approved behavioral health home plan in the nation. We’ve also pulled together leading state and national experts to examine what’s on the horizon in Maryland as we better integrate mental health, addiction and somatic care. Moderated by WYPR’s Sheilah Kast, our expert panel will detail the opportunities for better outcomes for people living with addiction and mental illness.
Also this week, MHAMD will testify at the Mental Hygiene Administration budget hearing on Friday, February 10 in the Subcommittee on Health and Human Services [Senate Budget and Taxation Committee]. While the Governor’s FY 2013 budget offers modest increases to mental health spending achieved through new revenue from the 2011 alcohol tax, these gains are more than offset by a negligible increase to community service dollars and destructive cost containment measures. Please take a moment and help us fight to restore mental health funding by completing our first budget action alert of the 2012 legislative session!
Lastly, bill introductions have picked up a bit. Below is a list of bills MHAMD is focused on this week. See the complete list here.
Bill Hearings
HB 286 MHAMD supports this bill requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to publish on its website the medical loss ratios for each Medicaid Managed Care Organization. [Tuesday, February 7 – 1:30pm – Health and Government Operations Committee]
HB 194 MHAMD supports this bill establishing a special fund to support individuals with traumatic brain injury. [Tuesday, February 7 – 1:30pm – Health and Government Operations Committee]
HB 168 MHAMD supports this bill prohibiting landlords and sellers from discriminating against prospective tenants based on the source of their income. [Thursday, February 9 – 1pm – Environmental Matters Committee]
HB 230 MHAMD supports this bill providing for a more focused emergency response after auto accidents by alerting EMTs to pertinent medical information in the glove box. [Thursday, February 9 – 1pm – Health and Government Operations Committee]
Further information about the material above is available on the Maryland General Assembly website at http://mlis.state.md.us/index.html
January 30, 2012
Bill introductions have been slow but they are increasing daily. The majority of the Senate bills should be introduced by this Friday, February 3. Friday is the Senate bill introduction deadline, meaning Senate bills introduced after this date are referred to the Senate Rules Committee before being assigned to a standing committee. The legislative process is already multi-step, and the addition of one more hurdle is something legislators try to avoid. Traditionally, the day after a bill introduction date is marked by the influx of hundreds of new legislative proposals. The House bill introduction deadline is February 10.
Also this week, Governor O’Malley delivers the State of the State Address at noon on Wednesday, February 1.
Remember, the MHAMD 2012 Annual Legislative Reception is just over a week away! If you haven’t already, please register now.
Below is a list of bills MHAMD is focused on this week.
Bill Hearings
HB 103 MHAMD supports this bill to expand Medicaid coverage to independent foster care adolescents up to 26 years of age. [Tuesday, January 31 – 1pm – Health and Government Operations Committee]
SB 167 MHAMD supports this bill to repeal the termination date of the Qualifying Employees With Disabilities Tax Credit. [Wednesday, February 1 – 3pm – Budget and Taxation Committee]
HB 53 MHAMD supports this bill to provide a community college tuition waiver to disabled individuals for continuing education instruction designed to lead to employment, including life skills instruction. [Thursday, February 2 – 2pm – Ways and Means Committee]
SB 107 MHAMD supports this bill to expand the prohibition and penalties against using electronic communication to terrify, intimidate or harass. [Thursday, February 2 – 1pm – Judicial Proceedings Committee]
Further information about the material above is available on the Maryland General Assembly website at http://mlis.state.md.us/index.html
January 23, 2012
There is plenty on the agenda this week in Annapolis. MHAMD will join Health Secretary Dr. Josh Sharfstein and the Lorraine Sheehan Alcohol Tax Coalition at a press conference tomorrow for an announcement regarding the 2011 alcohol tax increase. We also expect an announcement sometime this week regarding The Health Benefit Exchange Act of 2012. This legislation will continue to build on the health care reform progress Maryland has made over the past year.
Additionally, a number of our Mental Health Coalition partners are holding advocacy events in the coming days, including:
→ The Maryland Coalition of Families for Children’s Mental Health will hold its Children’s Mental Health Day in Annapolis on Tuesday, January 24.
→ Also on Tuesday, January 24 is the NAMI Maryland Advocacy Day in Annapolis.
→ The Maryland Disability Law Center and On Our Own of Maryland team up to bring you Action Annapolis 2012 on Wednesday, January 25.
Budget Update
MHAMD has been working to put in context the details of the Governor’s recently released budget for Fiscal Year 2013. Many questions remain, but we’ve tried to provide a preliminary overview of the big picture for mental health spending in Maryland over the next year. What follows is a snapshot of some key details.
→ The Mental Hygiene Administration (MHA) budget remains flat for FY 2013, despite a projected 7% increase in volume for the coming year.
Included in the proposed budget are:
- a 1% cost of living adjustment, amounting to $3 million in general fund expenditures
- $1.5 million to establish a health home pilot for individuals with significant behavioral health and medical conditions
- $1 million for a combined developmental disabilities and mental health housing initiative
- $500,000 to facilitate securing personal identification for homeless individuals
- $500,000 for a community forensic initiative
In order to facilitate the expected growth in the number of individuals seeking care, the FY 2013 MHA budget includes $30 million in cost containment measures apportioned as follows:
- $10 million inpatient utilization reduction (Medicaid) – this will be achieved through an increased focus on effective diversion strategies
- $4.25 million inpatient utilization reduction (purchase of care beds)
- $3.4 million reduction in psychiatric rehabilitation programming – to be achieved through further limitations in access for uninsured individuals
- $1.5 million reduction in psychiatric rehabilitation programs (services paid at the HSCRC rate)
- $3 million reduction in residential treatment center utilization
- $2.5 million in savings through fraud and abuse identification
- $4.4. million in savings through privatization of 48 ALU beds at Spring Grove Hospital Center and 40 ALU beds at Springfield Hospital Center
- $1 million in IMD pilot savings
Bill introductions have been slow so far but they will surely increase as we inch closer to the Senate and House introduction deadlines. Nevertheless, several bills have caught our attention. Below is a list of bills MHAMD is focused on this week. A complete list is attached.
Bill Hearings
HB 70 MHAMD opposes this bill requiring the State Board of Morticians and Funeral Directors, in certain situations, to require an applicant or licensee to submit to a competency examination. This is the House version of a bill MHAMD opposed last week in the Senate. [Thursday, January 26 – 1:30pm – Health and Government Operations Committee]
SB 72 MHAMD will monitor this bill proposing the addition of several categories of providers/professionals to the list of individuals permitted to make recommendations to which a minor can consent regarding medical treatment in emergency situations.
[Thursday, January 26 – 2pm – Finance Committee]
Further information about the material above is available on the Maryland General Assembly website at http://mlis.state.md.us/index.html
January 16, 2012
Today marks the beginning of the first full week of the 2012 legislative session. The 430th Maryland General Assembly convened last Wednesday and adjourns in early April. Over the next 90 days, the legislature will debate and act on well over 2,000 bills. MHAMD and its supporters must remain vigilant and prepared to act on behalf of our fellow Marylanders living with mental illness. On the agenda this week:
→ The Governor introduces his budget bill for the next fiscal year this Wednesday, January 18. The budget must be balanced and the legislature cannot add to it. It can, however, make cuts. The legislature cut $77 million from the Governor’s FY 2012 proposal.
→ On Wednesday, January 18 the House Subcommittee on Health and Human Resources will receive an update on health care reform efforts currently underway. (1:00 pm)
Bill Hearings
HB 34 MHAMD opposes this bill authorizing a court to hold a new hearing to receive additional evidence and testimony on a recommendation as to whether a person previously found not criminally responsible is eligible for discharge or conditional release from commitment [Tuesday, January 17 – 1pm – Judiciary Committee]
SB 14 MHAMD opposes this bill requiring the State Board of Morticians and Funeral Directors, in certain situations, to require an applicant or licensee to submit to a competency examination. [Tuesday, January 17 – 1pm – Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee]
Further information about the material above is available on the Maryland General Assembly website at http://mlis.state.md.us/index.html