People who tried get health insurance but couldn’t because of problems on the state’s online marketplace are one step closer to getting some help.
The Maryland Senate passed an emergency bill aimed at getting those people retroactive coverage Tuesday. The bill has to clear the House of Delegates next.
The legislation would give people who qualify until the end of March to sign up for coverage from the Maryland Health Insurance Plan, known as M-HIP. That coverage would be retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year. People are eligible if they tried to buy insurance on the Maryland Health Connection, but couldn’t because of problems with the website.
Senate President Mike Miller says exchange administrators will reach out to people who qualify to make sure they know about this option. “Governments make mistakes just like people do,” Miller said. “And the way this was unfolded has not met with the approval of most people and we’re going to make certain that all of our citizens are covered, are going to be given the opportunity to be covered.”
The government estimates anywhere from a couple hundred to 5,000 people could be eligible. It could cost the state up to $10 million. The bill would expand enrollment in the Maryland Health Insurance Plan. The state program was set up to cover high risk individuals, and those buying this coverage from the state would likely pay higher premiums than they would for private plans.
The temporary coverage would last until people can buy permanent insurance on the exchange.
Four Republicans joined Democrats in passing the bill. Senate Minority Leader David Brinkley voted against the health exchange but voted for this bill. He said it helps people harmed by the government’s failure. “I don’t know that it’s perfect but I know that it addresses that one issue for individuals and for families that are affected by this,” Brinkley said.
Minority Whip Joe Getty was one of eight republicans who voted against the emergency legislation. He says the no votes signaled a lack of faith in both the process and the website. “We’ve created a Band-Aid over what is a major crippled system,” he said.
Getty and other Senate Republicans have called for an independent committee to investigate the rollout of the health exchange because, he says, the governor’s office has not been forthcoming with documents that would shed light on who knew what when. He wants that committee to have independent counsel and subpoena power.
But most Democrats disagree. “When you start talking investigation, subpoena power, it makes you think that something criminal has happened,” said Sen. Mac Middleton, who heads the Senate Finance committee, which is in charge of the health exchange legislation. “I think there’s been a lot of error in human judgment, that there’s been some mismanagement. But I don’t see anything that warrants that we’ve got to have something with subpoena power.”
The Senate Finance committee is expected to hold a second hearing in the next week or two. Middleton says the hearing has been delayed so members could read through all of the information that is available.
Today also marks a deadline for another option for people who tried to sign up for insurance but couldn’t. Four insurers agreed last week to make coverage retroactive for people who signed up on the exchange by close of business today. As of Sunday, 458 people had taken advantage of that fix.
