COOPER RELEASES PROPOSAL FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE COVERAGE IN MARYLAND




Cooper for Maryland                  
Lower Healthcare Premiums, Smaller Class Sizes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                            CONTACT: Rasheen Carbin
May 1st, 2018                                                        240-274-2921
                          Press@Cooper4MD.com  
        
COOPER RELEASES PROPOSAL FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE COVERAGE IN MARYLAND

Bethesda, MD, April 24TH, 2018 – The campaign unveiled its Healthcare Equity, Access, Reliability, and Transparency Act  (H.E.A.R.T. Act) to move Maryland towards universal healthcare coverage through the provision of a “public option.” This plan would take the form of Medicaid expansion as an opt-in, means tested public option.

Said Cooper, “Taking care of the vulnerable is not only morally correct; it’s fiscally responsible. We need to stop using Emergency Rooms to provide primary care to the uninsured, stop using prisons to care for the mentally ill, and start using a Public Option through universal Medicaid eligibility to cover every Marylander with whole body coverage, which will improve health outcomes and will have a positive impact on health insurance premiums for everyone else.”

This plan aims to:
a.     Create a large risk pool by enrolling 500,000 public employees in this plan.
b.     Generate savings to gain economies of scale.
c.     Leverage purchasing power to negotiate down drug and medical device prices.
d.     Benefit from the significantly lower administrative costs associated with publicly administrated plans.
e.     Allow Marylanders to buy into this public option at a fair price for their income level.
f.      Maryland has made great strides by charging fair prices in hospitals. We should build upon successes to guarantee that our doctors do the same.

The plan has been endorsed by former Maryland Health Secretary Van Mitchell as a plan that is sure to generate long-term savings for Maryland.

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