Concerns about health insurance and affordable health care are topping the agenda for Democratic candidates for all the statewide offices and for the General Assembly.
Del. Anthony Brown, Baltimore Mayor Martin O?Malley?s running mate for lieutenant governor, unveiled the campaign?s proposal for the state to use its purchasing power to decrease the cost of prescription drugs.
Today, O?Malley and Brown are set to announce a plan to make health more affordable for small business.
Today, Del. Peter Franchot, a Democratic candidate for comptroller, will announce his support for the Healthy Maryland initiative, which includes doubling the cigarette tax to $2 a pack to fund more health care for the uninsured. Tom Perez, a Montgomery County Council member running for attorney general, endorsed the proposal two weeks ago, as did gubernatorial candidate Doug Duncan earlier last month before dropping out of the race.
“Health care is becoming a factor in all elections this year,” said Glenn Schneider, executive director of the Maryland Citizens Health Initiative. “People are worried about their health care. ? They?re worried one day soon that they?re going to be priced out.”
Vincent DeMarco, president of the health initiative backing the higher tobacco tax, said he?s seen health care mentioned more often in races for the legislature. On Monday, his group will be sending a letter to the hundreds of candidates for the General Assembly, asking them to support the tax hike. Brown also used the prescription drug proposal to attack Gov. Robert Ehrlich.
“The governor has simply failed to provide any leadership on the looming crisis in health care,” Brown said. Ehrlich has offered “no initiative, no solutions to a very complicated problem.” He and O?Malley “have no silver bullet” but “many Marylanders are frustrated with the lack of action.”
Ehrlich spokesman Henry Fawell scoffed at Brown?s claims that there were 100,000 fewer Maryland residents with health insurance than there were four years ago. Fawell said under Ehrlich, 79,000 additional Marylanders had been added to the Medicaid rolls, the state-funded health insurance program for the poor.
Fawell said Ehrlich had increased the Medicaid budget $1.25 billion in his first term, and the smoking rate had gone down. The administration also expanded a prescription drug program for senior citizens, he said.
