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Health Insurance Exchange Inches Forward in Annapolis

 

      ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - The Maryland House of Delegates has passed a measure to create a framework for a health insurance market place to provide coverage to the uninsured.

     The House voted 94-44 for the bill Monday. A similar bill is pending in the Senate.

     The measure builds on legislation passed last year to create the health care exchange, a mandate of federal health care reform. The measure sets up standards and regulations to run the program.

     Maryland has about 700,000 uninsured residents.

     Democratic supporters say the state needs to be prepared to implement the law by the January 2014 deadline under federal law.

     Republican critics of the measure say Maryland is moving too fast, because the law is being challenged in the Supreme Court. The high court began hearing arguments on Monday.

 

    

 

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.