Del. Ken Kerr

Maddy summaryHB 776 updates Maryland's laws regulating physicians, physician assistants, and allied health professionals by revising outdated or inconsistent language in the Medical Practice Act and Physician Assistants Act. The bill clarifies licensure requirements, disciplinary procedures, and reporting rules for these healthcare professionals, while also modifying grounds for discipline and administrative penalties. It affects licensed medical practitioners, the State Board of Physicians, and allied health advisory committees by streamlining regulatory processes. The bill focuses on administrative modernization rather than creating new policy, removing redundant provisions and aligning existing rules across the statutes.

Maddy summaryHB 334 establishes a statewide program requiring the Maryland Department of Health to provide universal newborn nurse home visiting services to all families with newborns (up to 12 weeks old) residing in Maryland. The program must be evidence-based, offered by licensed nurses, and delivered in homes or virtually, focusing on infant health, maternal well-being, family support, and child development. Crucially, the bill mandates that health insurers, nonprofit health plans, and health maintenance organizations cover and reimburse these services under existing policies. The program is voluntary for families, with no penalties for declining participation, and requires data collection on outcomes across key domains like reducing child maltreatment and improving school readiness.

Maddy summaryHB 820 requires health insurance companies, pharmacy benefits managers, and private review agents to follow specific rules when using artificial intelligence (AI) for medical coverage decisions (utilization review). It mandates that AI tools base decisions on individual patient medical records - not just group data - and cannot replace healthcare providers in review processes. The bill also prohibits AI from causing prohibited discrimination and requires insurers to report whether AI was used in denied claims. This directly affects insurers and review entities that use AI to approve or deny treatments, hospital stays, or medications.

Maddy summaryHB 1510 changes how healthcare providers must notify patients before destroying medical records. It requires providers to send destruction notices via **either** first-class mail or email (instead of both methods), affecting all Maryland healthcare facilities and their patients whose records are nearing the 7-year retention period. The key provision simplifies the notification process by allowing providers to choose one method, while still requiring the notice to include the destruction date and instructions for retrieving records if needed. This bill directly impacts patients receiving care in Maryland and healthcare providers managing medical records under existing law. The change takes effect October 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 850 requires Maryland's Commissioner of Labor and Industry to create and maintain a public data dashboard tracking information about contractors and apprentices working on state public work projects. Contractors must submit weekly data on employee wages, staffing levels, and apprentice details - including trade, certification, demographics, and registration dates - to the Commissioner. The dashboard must be updated monthly, posted prominently on the Labor Department website, and retain 24 months of historical data. This law directly affects all contractors awarded state public work contracts, aiming to increase transparency around wage practices and workforce composition.

Maddy summaryHB 757 redirects funds from oil transfer license fees to establish a dedicated program for professional and volunteer firefighters' cancer screening. Starting in fiscal year 2026, $4 of the $9 per barrel oil transfer fee (collected under Maryland's Environment Article) will be transferred annually to the Professional and Volunteer Firefighter Innovative Cancer Screening Technologies Program. The Secretary of Health must use these funds exclusively for this program, including supporting academic medical centers for screening purposes. This bill directly affects Maryland firefighters by creating a new, ongoing funding source for innovative cancer screening technologies.

Maddy summaryHB 406 changes how hearing aid dispensers are appointed to Maryland's State Board of Examiners. The bill requires the Board to notify all licensed hearing aid dispensers in the state when a vacancy occurs, instead of relying solely on a pre-submitted list. It also mandates that the list of candidates provided to the Governor must include at least three times the number of available positions. This applies specifically to the three hearing aid dispenser members on the 15-member board, directly affecting licensed hearing aid dispensers seeking board appointments. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 813 requires pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) to reimburse pharmacies at least the national average drug cost plus a professional dispensing fee for drugs covered under Maryland's Medicaid program (Maryland Medical Assistance Program). It directly affects pharmacies, PBMs, and managed care organizations that contract with PBMs for prescription drug coverage. Key provisions include expanding the definition of "purchaser" to include certain insurers and health plans, while excluding pharmacy-owned operations and mail-order pharmacies from the reimbursement rules. The bill aims to standardize payment rates for pharmacies serving Medicaid patients by tying reimbursements to nationally recognized cost benchmarks.

Maddy summaryHB 718 establishes the Maryland Health Insurance Coverage Protection Commission to monitor and assess how federal changes to health care programs like the ACA, Medicaid, Medicare, and Maryland's All-Payer Model might affect residents' access to affordable coverage. The Commission, composed of state officials, health care industry representatives, and public members, will track federal policy shifts and evaluate their potential impacts on Marylanders. It will then provide state and local recommendations to protect health coverage access, particularly for vulnerable groups like low-income households and communities of color. This bill directly affects all Maryland residents by creating a dedicated body to safeguard health care access amid federal policy uncertainty.

Maddy summaryHB 384 establishes the Maryland Disability Service Animal Program within the Department of Disabilities. The program requires the Department to select a nonprofit organization to train service animals and creates a dedicated fund to support eligible individuals with disabilities (as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act). Key provisions include referring individuals to the nonprofit trainer, providing funding assistance for service animal training, and encouraging successful participants to help with outreach to others. This directly affects Maryland residents with disabilities who need service animals trained to perform specific tasks for daily living.