Hopkins experts propose universal health care
Researchers visualize universal health care for Maryland
Public health experts at Johns Hopkins University and University of Maryland, as part of the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative organization (MCHI), proposed an unprecedented universal health care plan for the state of Maryland.
The $15.5-billion initiative is being led by Hopkins Public Health Professor and MCHI President Vincent DeMarco. Hopkins Professors Lisa Dubay, Margaret Ensminger, Bradley Herring, David Holtgrave, David Jernigan, Hugh Waters, Jonathan Weiner and Hopkins graduate students all helped craft the universal health care plan.
"We've been working for more than two years on a plan that makes quality health care affordable for all, particularly small businesses and families, in a way that is politically viable and fiscally responsible," DeMarco wrote in an e-mail.
MCHI proposed a set of comprehensive state tax increases to help finance the system, including increases in alcohol and tobacco taxes and a new tax on employer payrolls.
If passed, the proposal named Maryland Health Care for All (MDHCFA) would drastically reform the current health care system by lowering insurance premiums and mandatorily covering everyone who is currently not insured.
DeMarco expressed optimism that the proposal would pass in the near future.
"Maryland General Assembly goes into session from January through April.?We will propose our plan then but it is not likely to pass in 2009. We will build a powerful coalition over the next couple of years that will achieve this goal soon," DeMarco wrote.
According to the official MCHI Technical Advisory Committee Report on the proposal, the theme of the plan is choice.
Those who want to participate in MDHCFA could choose from different health care policies offered by the plan based on their income level.
"For families with children and total family income up to 200 percent FPL (Federal Poverty Level), they can choose to enroll in Medicaid [offered by MDHCFA] with no cost or receive a subsidy toward private coverage," the Report explains.
The $15.5-billion initiative is being led by Hopkins Public Health Professor and MCHI President Vincent DeMarco. Hopkins Professors Lisa Dubay, Margaret Ensminger, Bradley Herring, David Holtgrave, David Jernigan, Hugh Waters, Jonathan Weiner and Hopkins graduate students all helped craft the universal health care plan.
"We've been working for more than two years on a plan that makes quality health care affordable for all, particularly small businesses and families, in a way that is politically viable and fiscally responsible," DeMarco wrote in an e-mail.
MCHI proposed a set of comprehensive state tax increases to help finance the system, including increases in alcohol and tobacco taxes and a new tax on employer payrolls.
If passed, the proposal named Maryland Health Care for All (MDHCFA) would drastically reform the current health care system by lowering insurance premiums and mandatorily covering everyone who is currently not insured.
DeMarco expressed optimism that the proposal would pass in the near future.
"Maryland General Assembly goes into session from January through April.?We will propose our plan then but it is not likely to pass in 2009. We will build a powerful coalition over the next couple of years that will achieve this goal soon," DeMarco wrote.
According to the official MCHI Technical Advisory Committee Report on the proposal, the theme of the plan is choice.
Those who want to participate in MDHCFA could choose from different health care policies offered by the plan based on their income level.
"For families with children and total family income up to 200 percent FPL (Federal Poverty Level), they can choose to enroll in Medicaid [offered by MDHCFA] with no cost or receive a subsidy toward private coverage," the Report explains.
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