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Prevent Medicaid Expansion Cuts!
Through all of your great work and tireless support the state Medicaid program was expanded to over 100,000 people on July 1, 2008. Governor Martin O'Malley's Working Families and Small Business Health Care Coverage Act is slated to expand to non-parental adults on July 1, 2009. To not continue this expansion as originally scheduled would be a tremendous disappointment. We all need to let our Governor and the Maryland General Assembly know that to cut this fantastic program is not an option. Maryland is already seeing sharp increases in residents who desperately need these services in this economic climate, and without these programs working families will once again have far fewer or no options to ensure quality care for themselves.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Please Do Not Cut Medicaid
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
Thank you very much for your leadership which has resulted in Maryland greatly expanding health care coverage to the uninsured. I am writing to express my strong support for retaining Medicaid expansion which took effect on July 1 of this year as well as protecting funds for the non-custodial parental coverage expansion which becomes effective July 1, 2009. Protecting and fully supporting these programs during this time of economic downturn may be challenging, but critical.
Maryland is already seeing a sharp increase in residents who desperately need these services through no fault of their own. Without these programs, working families will once again have far fewer or no options to ensure quality care for themselves. That is why full implementation of the current and scheduled Medicaid expansions is even more critical than ever.
Already, over 23,000 Marylanders have enrolled in the new health care expansion that you and the General Assembly made possible, and I know that thousands more will enroll soon. It would be tragic if those who desperately need this new health care coverage but are not yet enrolled could not do so. I respectfully and strongly urge that you fully fund both the present expansion for custodial parents and the expansion for non-custodial parents scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2009.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
December 17, 2008
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In the Special Session of 2007, taxes were not the only thing that was discussed. A landmark piece of legislation was passed with the leadership of Governor Martin O'Malley and the Maryland General Assembly. The Governor's Working Families and Small Business Health Care Coverage Act of 2007 ensured that over 100,000 uninsured Maryland Residents now had access to quality health care.
With this expanded eligibility Maryland went from 44th to 21st in the nation in eligibility. This was a huge step forward and in turn tons of our fellow residents gained access to care that they never had access to before. As a result, since the program began on July 1, 2008 over 23,000 Marylanders have enrolled in the new program. Currently, as of July 1, 2009 the expansion is set to cover non-parental adults as well.
Unfortunately we have hit harder economic times, and Maryland like all states has serious budget concerns. There is now talk that the fantastic piece of legislation we all worked so hard on might be the victim of budget cuts. This is something we all have to make sure never happens. With the economic downturn, Maryland is already seeing a sharp increase in residents who desperately need these services through no fault of their own. Without these programs, working families will once again have far fewer or no choices to ensure quality care for themselves or their family members, especially those with no children. In short, in times like the current economic situation, programs like Medicaid are even more needed.
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