Wes Moore on Health Care

Cutting healthcare is not the way to protect our people

Cox: I will do everything in Maryland to make sure those benefits are kept. [But] $865 million dollars, according to an audit, has been fraudulently spent in Medicaid in Maryland. That is more than cuts that Medicaid might be looking at, that could save Medicaid. As to SNAP, the same issues there were 1858 people incarcerated receiving SNAP. One person won a $2 million lottery. We need common sense to make sure our budget is cared for.

Moore: Making sure you are dealing with a federal administration who is comfortable with trying to kick hundreds of thousands of people off of healthcare and seems comfortable with trying to kick over 680,000 kids off of food assistance. We have to make sure we are protecting the health and the welfare and the safety of our people and cutting SNAP, Medicaid and cutting healthcare is not the way we're going to do it.

We're bringing down the cost of prescription drugs

We need more physicians and nurses of color

Gov. MOORE (D-MD): What we've got to do is we've got to strengthen the pipeline to get more physicians and nurses of color who are actually in there to increase the probability that when a person comes in they're going to have someone who's going to be treating them and supporting them who looks like them, who represents them. And so we do think that type of training and those types of pipelines are crucial in this conversation about being able to deal with the Black maternal health challenge that we have within this country.

Gov. SANDERS (R-AR): The coverage of doulas and community workers and having somebody that helps support throughout the process. But I think one of the big pieces that so often gets left out of the conversation, especially when it comes to government, is the faith community. This is a place where there is an implied trust and there's a relationship that already exists.

Vaccine policy led by science, not conspiracy theories

Safeguard gender-affirming care in Maryland

Summary by Free State Justice in support, October 17, 2024: This piece of legislation protects access to gender-affirming care in MD by adding it to the state's definition of legally protected healthcare. This does a variety of essential things, from ensuring locals can access the care they need to safeguarding both clients and their physicians from legal action by any other states trying to prosecute them for receiving/giving this care.

Legislative Outcome:Passed Senate 33-13-1 on Mar/5/25; passed House 97-38-6 on Apr/2/24; signed by Governor Wes Moore on May/16/24.

Ensure access to quality, affordable health care coverage

• Ensure every Marylander has access to quality, affordable health care coverage and that the ability to pay is not the deciding factor in obtaining needed care.
• Lower prescription drug prices by empowering the Prescription Drug Affordability Board to review costs and set limits for prescription drugs, explore bulk buying pools, and leverage the state's purchasing power to drive down costs.
• Address and eliminate disparities in maternal mortality rates for Black and Brown women by incorporating social determinants of health into health care settings and reporting measures across the state.
• Implement legislation requiring Maryland's Medicaid program to provide one year of postpartum coverage to new mothers.