Del. Kim Ross

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 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.

Maddy summaryHB 333 requires Maryland's healthcare ecosystem entities - including hospitals, medical facilities, data exchanges, and other defined providers - to adopt cybersecurity standards, implement a "zero-trust" security approach, undergo third-party audits, and report incidents to the State Security Operations Center. It mandates the Maryland Health Care Commission to hire a cybersecurity expert to advise on oversight and collaborate with security offices. The bill also directs the Department of Emergency Management to convene a workgroup to study and improve healthcare cybersecurity practices. These requirements directly affect healthcare providers and data handlers but exclude insurers and pharmacy benefits managers.

Maddy summaryHB 1082 establishes Maryland’s State-Based Health Insurance Subsidies Program to help residents pay for health insurance if federal advance premium tax credits (which reduce insurance costs) decrease. The program would provide direct subsidies to Maryland individuals affected by such federal changes, specifically targeting fiscal years 2026 and 2027. It uses existing funding from the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Fund, which includes state-designated money, federal waiver funds, and other sources, to cover these subsidies without requiring new taxes. The bill amends Maryland’s insurance code to formally create this program and outlines how the state will administer it through the Health Benefit Exchange. This policy change directly affects Maryland residents purchasing individual health insurance plans who might face higher costs due to reduced federal support.

Maddy summaryHB 783 requires health professionals renewing certain licenses (such as physicians, nurses, and social workers) to complete training on both implicit bias and structural racism as part of their first license renewal after April 1, 2026. The training must be approved by Maryland's Cultural and Linguistic Health Care Professional Competency Program, replacing prior requirements that only mandated implicit bias training. This change updates Maryland law to explicitly include structural racism - a system of institutional inequalities based on race - in the training standards for health occupation licenses. The bill applies to license renewals under the Health Occupations Article and amends related sections of Maryland's code to reflect this new requirement.

Maddy summaryHB 962 addresses pediatric hospital overstay cases where children under 22 remain hospitalized after being medically cleared for discharge. It requires hospitals to place these patients in the least restrictive setting possible, allowing concurrent exploration of both in-state and out-of-state placement options. The bill establishes a Pediatric Hospital Overstay Coordinator within the Governor’s Office for Children to oversee this process and mandates a state study on residential treatment center and respite facility rates. This law directly affects hospitals, pediatric patients, and state agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services.

Maddy summaryHB 1045 updates Maryland's health insurance and family planning laws to align with current federal standards. It specifically expands the definition of "family planning providers" to include those who lost federal Title X funding due to service scope (like abortion access or referrals), ensuring Medicaid continues reimbursing them for services. The bill requires the Maryland Medical Assistance Program to maintain access to family planning services for these providers by establishing similar requirements to other providers and prohibiting restrictions on services within a provider's scope of practice. It also clarifies that the Maryland Insurance Commissioner and Civil Rights Commission share enforcement authority over health insurance discrimination.