The Enterprise

Wednesday June 9, 2010

By Alan Brody, Staff Writer

Nearly 4,000 previously uninsured Southern Marylanders are beneficiaries of the state's 2007 expansion of Medicaid, according to a health care advocacy group.

The Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative celebrated the figures at a Friday afternoon news conference in North Beach, the last in a series of election-year events across the state designed to thank supporters of the expansion and push for further progress.

Statewide, 61,000 Marylanders have enrolled in Medicaid under the new guidelines, which made adults earning up to 116 percent of the federal poverty level-- about $20,000 a year for a family of three -- eligible for the benefit.

As a result, Maryland has climbed from 44th in the nation in adult health care coverage to 16th, said Vincent DeMarco, president of the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative and a leading health care advocate in Annapolis.

That's progress, but not the end of the road, said Rawle Andrews, senior state director for AARP Maryland.

"Nobody holds up a thumb and says 'We're No. 16,'" he said. "We want to be No. 1."

The event at the Twin Beaches Community Health Center highlighted the 979 Calvert County residents who are now enrolled in Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for the poor, because of the state expansion.

The community health center, which opened in 2002, has provided care to more than 2,700 Medicaid recipients in the last two years, said Dr. Robert Schlager, vice president for medical affairs at Calvert Memorial Hospital, which is affiliated with the North Beach facility.

The state's goal should be to extend health coverage to everyone because those with insurance pay for uncompensated care through higher premiums, said Del. Sue Kullen (D-Calvert).

About 1,400 Charles County residents have enrolled in Medicaid since the expansion, according to May figures released by the Maryland Citizens Health Initiative. Nearly 1,350 St. Mary's County citizens are newly insured since 2007, according to the statistics.

Stacey Davis, deputy director of planning for the state health department's Medical Assistance Program, said the number of Medicaid recipients since 2007 will likely surpass 65,000 when the latest numbers are reported this week.

The Medicaid expansion is on track to reach its goal of providing coverage for more than 100,000 Marylanders within five years. At the time the measure passed, approximately 800,000 state residents lacked health insurance.

abrody@somdnews.com