Health

Per the Maryland Attorney General’s Office: “Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced today that the Health Education and Advocacy Unit (HEAU) within his Consumer Protection Division closed 2,037 cases in Fiscal Year 2023, helping patients save or recover over $3.3 million dollars, including more than $2.6 million in appeals and grievances cases. The information was included as a part of the comprehensive Annual Report on the Health Insurance Carrier Appeals and Grievances Process that was submitted to the General Assembly.

The HEAU offers mediation services to consumers with health insurance and medical billing issues, hospital financial assistance applications, medical debt collection, and access to medical records. The Unit also helps consumers who have problems enrolling in a private health plan on Maryland Health Connection, the state’s health insurance marketplace, or obtaining financial assistance to lower the cost of coverage.

Bethesda: 

Burtonsville:

Per the Maryland Attorney General’s Office: “Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today joined a coalition of 17 Attorneys General in support of the Biden administration’s defense of its revised “public charge” regulations, which determine who can obtain or keep legal immigration status.

The revised regulations reject changes undertaken by the previous administration, which caused hardworking immigrants and their families to avoid or refuse critical health, nutrition, and housing programs for which they qualified. In today’s amicus brief, the coalition emphasized the importance of the Biden administration’s new rule, which supports their states’ efforts to protect the health and well-being of immigrant families and all the states’ residents.

Per the Maryland Department of Health (10.23.23): “The Maryland Department of Health today announced a new funding opportunity for Maryland nonprofits to establish and expand community behavioral health programs for service members, veterans and family members. Selected applicants will be eligible to receive approximately $100,000 through the Sheila E. Hixson Behavioral Health Services Matching Grant Program for Service Members and Veterans.

“Expanding behavioral health services to our military-connected communities is of vital importance to me,” said Maryland Department of Health Secretary Laura Herrera Scott. “Many service members and veterans are trained to be resilient and may be less likely to ask for help, so it is our responsibility to offer providers the information and tools to reach and provide care to these individuals and families.”

Per the Maryland State Police: “Maryland State Police are asking people to properly dispose of unwanted prescription drugs during national drug take back day. Citizens can drop off unused prescription drugs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28 at all 23 Maryland State Police barracks. Maryland State Police are participating as part of the 25^th National Prescription Drug Take Back Initiative by the Drug Enforcement Administration. During the last take back in April, the DEA collected about 11,750 pounds of unwanted drugs at more than 100 sites in Maryland from 31 law enforcement agencies, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Maryland State Police collected more than 1,100 pounds including:

The event aims to provide a safe, convenient and responsible means of disposing prescription drugs, while educating the public about medication misuse. All Maryland State Police barracks are equipped with secure drug collection boxes that are available 24/7. Citizens can drop off unused medications at the closest barrack—no questions asked at any time, even if they are unable to participate in Saturday’s event.

Per the Maryland Department of Health: The Maryland Department of Health has been awarded a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to expand Alzheimer’s and related dementias prevention and care programs in the state. The grant period is from September 30, 2023 to September 29, 2028. Maryland is one of 43 states, cities, and territories to receive funding through the federal Building Our Largest Dementia Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act, signed into law in 2018, to create a national public health infrastructure to combat Alzheimer’s and related dementias and preserve brain health.

“Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias represent an urgent and costly public health crisis,” said Maryland Department of Health Secretary Laura Herrera Scott. “This grant will help Maryland provide support and resources within communities most impacted by this devastating disease and lessen the burden on caregivers and families.”

Per the Maryland Attorney General’s Office: Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown has joined a multistate coalition of 24 Attorneys General in protecting access to abortion medication nationwide. The coalition filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) and Danco Laboratories LLC’s petitions to reverse the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s ruling that reinstated certain medically unnecessary, and previously eliminated, restrictions on the medication.

The coalition is urging the Supreme Court to grant the petitions to bring the case on medication abortion before the court. The coalition also asks the Supreme Court to reverse the Fifth Circuit’s decision that restricts how mifepristone can be prescribed and dispensed. The brief highlights that the Fifth Circuit’s decision ignores decades of high-quality evidence and clinical research that shows mifepristone is safe and effective.