After 24 years of mismanagement by HMOs, Congress now finds itself in the midst of a battle to pass a "Patients' Bill of Rights" that some people call an "HMO Bill of Rights."  One part of the equation is allowing patients to sue HMOs for denying coverage that doctors think is needed.  The U. S. Senate will be working on its version of what the House of Representatives recently passed in the Bush-Norwood deal. You should monitor this situation closely.  Whatever comes out probably will cost Taxpayers more money.

   President Bush announced in early August that he would recommend increasing insurance benefits for those who really needed them if the states would make plans to get the 12 million Medicaid recipients off the public programs.  While this sounds like an impossible situation, it will require states to make additional efforts to find jobs for these people that pay benefits like $7,200 a year.  Not too many hamburger flippers or department store and grocery store cashiers will be getting these kind of benefits.

   How will Maryland get its people off Medicaid?  The Department of Health & Mental Hygiene had an asking budget of $4.6 Billion for FY 2002.  That is about 25% of the Maryland budget.  Medicaid was scheduled to go up