Maryland Governor Touts $25M Fund to Offset Medicaid Coverage Losses
At the ninth annual Bloomberg American Health Summit in Baltimore, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore highlighted $25 million in new state funding intended to help residents who lost Medicaid coverage due to the 2025 federal budget reconciliation law (H.R. 1) access care at community health centers and local health departments instead of emergency rooms. The funding was approved in July by the Health Services Cost Review Commission, and the Maryland Health Care Commission has opened applications for federally qualified health centers and certain local health departments. Moore also pointed to the state's new Vax Act, giving the state health secretary authority to issue vaccine recommendations independent of federal guidance. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott separately discussed framing gun violence as a public health issue amid a sharp drop in city homicides.