HB 357 / SB898 - An Attack on Affordable Employer Sponsored Healthcare

For more than 50 years, self-insured employer-sponsored healthcare (a popular healthcare structure for Maryland employers, local governments, schools, and unions) has been governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). This federal preemption provided uniform regulations and protections for employees and employers sponsoring their healthcare. This uniform set of standards allowed Maryland businesses, local governments, unions, and schools to provide affordable and accessible healthcare and prescription drugs to their employees.

This bill strips away the very ERISA protections and benefits that have allowed employers to provide healthcare and prescription drug benefits at affordable prices for thousands of hard-working Marylanders. Some of the protections and benefits that will be gutted by HB357 / SB 898 include eliminating discounts for co-pays which employers use to drive down costs by encouraging patients to visit pharmacies or utilize mail-order prescription services that sell drugs at lower prices.

This legislation also allows for price gouging by eliminating the protections that control costs for specialty prescription drugs or when purchasing prescription drugs from a specialty pharmacy.

Our coalition is strongly opposed to this legislation.

HB 374 / SB565 - Removing Tools Used to Fight Waste, Fraud & Abuse in Healthcare

This bill hinders our member's ability to provide safe and affordable healthcare by removing tools such as auditing for waste, fraud, and abuse in pharmacies.
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Our coalition is strongly opposed to this legislation.