Maryland Matters - Chestertown Spy

Bumps AHEAD: Trump Administration Evaluating Maryland’s Authority to Set Medicare Rates

May 8, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

The Trump administration has signaled an interest in reining in Maryland’s ability to set rates for Medicare services – an authority the state has held for about 40 years.

Maryland’s system, unusual among states, gives the state significant say over the costs of health care services across different coverage plans to keep costs low and consistent, in what’s known as the States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development, or AHEAD, model.

But advocates worry that the feds’ apparent interest in changing who sets Medicare rates could disrupt health care payments for consumers, governments and providers.

Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) told reporters this week that he was “cautiously concerned” about the future of Maryland’s health care system while those negotiations continue between federal and state health officials.

“I don’t want to over-index anything … There’s reason to be concerned that there are going to be substantial changes,” he said.

The state’s ability to set Medicare rates has been in place for about 40 years under a waiver granted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).

In the time since, the state’s health care system has evolved and the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission now determines the rates for care across all hospitals in the state, so that health care service costs are similar whether someone has private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid.

But the current iteration of that payment system, called Total Cost of Care, is set to end in December 2025. Last November, Maryland entered into an agreement with the Biden administration to continue under the similar AHEAD system. The AHEAD model was actually based on Maryland’s Total Cost of Care model and similar systems in other states, due to its success in reducing health care costs.

But the Trump administration is now talking about taking another look at that arrangement and possibly making some changes. Specifically, federal officials are interested in removing Maryland’s ability to set rates for Medicare services

While current talks focus on Medicare rates, there could be ripple effects on rates for Medicaid and private insurance due to the state’s all-payer model that aims to keep costs for health care consistent across the board, according to health care advocates.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees CMMI, did not confirm whether the Trump administration plans to end Maryland’s rate-setting authority for Medicare, but reiterated that “subject to discussions with State authorities,” the AHEAD model is currently set to begin in January 2026.

Maryland Health Secretary Dr. Meena Seshamani, a former CMS official in the Biden administration, said that those discussions are ongoing.

“Since the change in federal administration, the Maryland Department of Health has been in direct discussions about the future of the model, working with CMMI and in-state stakeholders to align the Maryland model with federal priorities to deliver high-quality outcomes for all Marylanders,” Seshamani said Wednesday. “The administration will not comment further, given that discussions are ongoing and confidential.”

There may be opportunities where CMMI and the state can find common ground over shared goals like preventing and reducing chronic disease, experts say, though it is unclear where negotiations will land at this moment.

Gene Ransom, CEO for MedChi, the Maryland State Medical Society, believes it is not time to panic, and that there is still opportunity for the state and the Trump administration to “meet in the middle” — even if CMMI officials signal interest in changing the rate-setting process for Medicare.

And despite his “cautious concern,” Ferguson said he hopes that any changes that come down on the state’s current health care plan will still help lower health care costs for Marylanders while pushing for greater quality of care.

“There could be changes that don’t have a dramatic impact on the financial stability of our marketplace for health care,” he said.

“I am hopeful that those in charge of CMS and CMMI will see the benefit that the Maryland model has provided for lowering costs over time,” he said, noting that there may be “important updates” in the next few weeks.

by Danielle J. Brown, Maryland Matters
May 8, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

‘Blueprint’ Bill That Avoids Some of the Most Severe Education Cuts is Signed into Law

May 7, 2025 by Maryland Matters 1 Comment

Even as changes to the state’s education reform act were being signed into law Tuesday, state officials and advocates were already talking about changes they want to see next in the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.

The debate over House Bill 504 – the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act – was among the sharpest in the 2025 General Assembly session, with the governor and lawmakers, particularly the House, split over changes to the expensive plan that were needed as the state grappled with a $3 billion budget deficit.

But Gov. Wes Moore (D) on Tuesday, standing next to Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County), thanked them, several lawmakers and education officials for their work on the bill, which passed on the last day of the 90-day session last month.

“While this legislation is an important step forward, it cannot be the last step that we take on education,” Moore said at Tuesday’s bill signing ceremony. “While we refine our strategy to ensure we aren’t just spending more, but that we’re spending smart, I will continue to use every option available to me as governor to improve our schools and deliver for our students.”

The final bill did not contain some of the deepest cuts that were offered to try rein in spending on the 10-year, multibillion-dollar Blueprint plan. But it also did not include some of the flexibility for local schools boards that some administrators had been pushing for.

State Board of Education President Joshua Michael, who attended the bill signing ceremony, said the governor and legislature helped to improve the Blueprint plan through their negotiations. But Michael said it would have helped if they had included funding for a teacher coaching program, a recommendation made by a nonprofit’s report last month on reading.

“We’re pleased that the legislature authorized the program, but we need resources,” Michael said. “We’re going to continue to press forward with the tools that we have around the literacy policy and the math policy, and we’re going to work with the legislature and the governor to see what we can do in the future.”

Moore in January proposed a Blueprint reform plan that called for a four-year pause in the expansion of teacher “collaborative time” – hours when teachers are not in the classroom but are planning for meeting. State education leaders have said at least 12,000 new teachers would have to be hired to fully implement collaborative time. The governor also proposed a decrease in funding for special education, low-income and English language learners, and keeping funding for community schools – those that receive concentration of poverty grants – at current levels for two years.

Lawmakers pushed back hard against reductions in funding that would affect those students in most need. Legislators were ultimately able to preserve most of the funding for students in need, and advocates praised lawmakers like Del. Vanessa Atterbeary (D-Howard) for not backing down over funding for underserved students.

Atterbeary, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee that assesses education policy, said Tuesday the legislature may need to assess education funding in the near future, especially “with the climate” in the federal government led by President Donald Trump (R).

“Why should we say to our most underserved communities, to our minority communities that at the national level when our president is saying, ‘We don’t care about you,’ and WE’RE going to double down and cut their funding. No. Absolutely not,” said Atterbeary, who didn’t attend Tuesday’s ceremony.

“I couldn’t do that as a mother. I couldn’t do that as a woman. I couldn’t do that as an African American and I absolutely couldn’t do it as a legislator,” she said. “Ultimately, the legislation in terms of that aspect passed as we wanted.”

‘Give faith’

Advocates such as Riya Gupta remain pleased the Blueprint bill passed, but she said more money is needed for mental health, behavioral and other wraparound services for students in the upcoming 2025-26 school year.

Under the Consortium on Coordinated Supports, which is part of the Blueprint plan, the governor proposed to fund those services at $130 million for next fiscal year. The House proposed just $40 million, but ultimately Senate language was adopted that allocated $70 million next year and $100 million a year thereafter.

Gupta, interim director for the advocacy group Strong Schools Maryland, which focuses on protecting the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, said Monday that the state cannot make a habit of analyzing Blueprint funding, as it did this year.

She also said parents, students, advocates and community leaders should be given ample opportunities to become involved in any policy discussions for next year’s legislative session.

“We have to bring them to the table,” she said. “We have to give the faith to listen to their ideas that are also in line with the vision of the Blueprint.”

Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-Lower Shore), who voted against the bill last month, agrees more local input is needed. Carozza said she will continue to push for recommendations offered in December by a superintendent’s association.

Several of the association’s proposals became legislation sponsored by Sen. Karen Lewis Young (D-Frederick), and later amendments offered by Carozza, but none of the proposals advanced beyond a Senate committee.

“There were too many missed opportunities to do more on Blueprint revisions and to give our local school systems the flexibility they need…” Carozza said Monday.

Carozza and other Republican lawmakers expressed concerns about future funding for the multibillion-dollar plan, now in its third year. Some have said future budgets will not only affect school systems, but also county governments, which may not be able to pay for increases in transportation, special education or other programs.

Although the Blueprint is funded in the next two years, the subsequent years are slated to shift to the state’s general fund with projected deficits up to $3 billion by fiscal 2030.

“Which translates to new and even bigger taxes,” Carozza said. “We cannot move forward with the Blueprint by doing major cost shifts to the counties.”

by William J. Ford, Maryland Matters
May 7, 2025

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Banker, Blast Owner Ed Hale Preparing a 2026 Challenge to Wes Moore

May 3, 2025 by Maryland Matters 1 Comment

As far as Ed Hale is concerned, it’s all over but the paperwork.

Hale, the current owner of the Baltimore Blast indoor soccer team and a longtime city banker and business owner, said he is committed to mounting a Democratic primary challenge in 2026 to Gov. Wes Moore (D), at the urging of friends who he said are worried about the future of the state.

It’s just talk for the moment, but Hale said Thursday that he is pulling together all the paperwork and disclosure forms that will be needed to make it official.

“I’m getting everything together … and that’s it, and I hope to file it on Monday or Tuesday after working through the weekend to get it all done,” said Hale, 78.

“When I’m done, you know, I will have some sort of press announcement,” he said.

The primary election is not until June 30, 2026, but Hale might need all that time to mount a challenge to Moore, a formidable candidate despite some recent bumps in the road.

While recent polls have shown Moore’s job approval slipped a bit, as state officials juggled new taxes and program cuts to close a $3 billion gap in next year’s budget, his ratings were still above 50% three years into his first term, with 52% of voters in a February poll saying they approved of the job he is doing. Among Democrats, who would be voting in the 2026 primary, 79% said they approve of Moore.

Moore is a prodigious fundraiser who reportedly has $4 million in the bank already. He will be 47 next summer to Hale’s 79. And the governor frequently makes appearances on national stages and is often talked about as a possible presidential contender in 2028 — speculation he rejected repeatedly during an appearance Thursday on “The View.”

Moore’s office declined to comment Thursday on the possibility of a primary challenge from Hale.

Even in a decidedly blue state like Maryland, the winner of the primary will have to face general election challengers, and the GOP already has one ticket in the race. Republican John Myrick filed for governor in February, the earliest possible date to do so, and he announced his running mate on Wednesday, former Washington County Del. Brenda Thiam.

More daunting would be a race against former Gov. Larry Hogan (R), whose popularity numbers rivaled Moore’s through his two terms in office and who is repeatedly mentioned as a possible 2026 candidate for his old job.

Hale said his decision to run came after discussions with many friends, who were lamenting the direction of the state, particularly its fiscal situation and business climate.

“I talked to [former Maryland Insurance Commissioner] Al Redmer and some other guys, and this is terrible, what’s happening in the state,” Hale said, describing their discussions. “‘Can’t you come up with anybody?’ We were goose hunting on my farm. And finally, people started calling me, why don’t you consider doing it?

“So I just thought about and thought about it, and just decided to do it,” Hale said.

He stresses his business background, noting that he built his businesses from the ground up, with no family money and no college education. Hale waxes poetic about the natural beauty of the state and its many cultural and economic advantages, but said he worries about its future.

He said he is most concerned about the state’s financial future.

“I hear about the budget, and I hear it’s going to get worse, not better,” Hale said. “I’m not here to criticize the problem. I’m just coming in trying to be part of the solution.”

Hale concedes that Moore would be a formidable opponent who will run a well-organized and well-funded race for reelection. But he said he is not worried by the prospect of raising the money and building the organization that will be needed to challenge a popular incumbent.

“I’ll give it the old East Baltimore Irish try,” he said.

by Bryan P. Sears and Steve Crane, Maryland Matters
May 2, 2025

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Jake Day Eyes Challenge on Eastern Shore to GOP Rep. Andy Harris

May 2, 2025 by Maryland Matters 1 Comment

Jake Day, the secretary at the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, is beginning to raise money for a possible challenge to U.S. Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st), Maryland Matters has learned.

At the urging of leading Democrats, Day, a former mayor of Salisbury and one of the most high-profile members of Gov. Wes Moore’s Cabinet, has set up an exploratory campaign committee under the Federal Election Commission’s “testing the waters” guidelines for candidates. He is soliciting donations to pay for a poll to gauge his strength in a hypothetical general election against Harris, the lone Republican in the state’s congressional delegation.

Day has hired Adeo Advocacy, a powerhouse Baltimore-based fundraising firm that works for Moore and other leading Maryland Democrats, and is expected to engage a pollster soon, several Democrats said.

In a brief interview Wednesday evening, Day confirmed the exploratory effort but was otherwise circumspect.

“I’m flattered that people are interested in this,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot of messages of support over the past few weeks. I’m focused on my day job and time will tell on everything else.”

WBOC-TV in Salisbury first reported the existence of the exploratory effort three weeks ago, but the full extent of Day’s political activities ahead of a potential congressional bid have not previously been publicly known.

Maryland Democrats have long dreamed of knocking off Harris, the chair of the arch-conservative House Freedom Caucus on Capitol Hill who is serving his eighth term. But under the gerrymandered congressional district lines fashioned by Democrats in the General Assembly, the 1st District, which includes the Eastern Shore, Harford County and a slice of Baltimore County, is overwhelmingly Republican. Even highly touted Democratic challengers like former state delegate and ex-gubernatorial candidate Heather Mizeur have fallen far short of defeating Harris over the years.

Harris won reelection last fall by 22 points over Democrat Blaine Miller III, at the same time President Trump was carrying the district by almost 17 points. Harris reported having $884,283 in his campaign account as of March 31, according to his latest report with the FEC.

But hope springs eternal for the Democrats, who believe Trump’s current polling slump and Americans’ plunging confidence in the U.S. economy could provide rare opportunities for the party in the 2026 midterm elections. At a minimum, Day’s potential candidacy could bolster Moore’s reelection efforts next year — particularly if he faces a tough challenge from former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) — by engaging Democrats in a congressional district that the party does not often prioritize.

Day, a 42-year-old Army veteran, has long been considered a rising star in Maryland politics — and perhaps one of the few Democrats who could give Harris a tough race in the 1st District. He served on the Salisbury City Council from 2013 to 2015 and as mayor from 2015 to 2023. But it is often difficult for ambitious and accomplished Eastern Shore Democrats to progress far politically given the region’s conservative lean.

Adam Wood, executive director of the Maryland Republican Party — whose chair is Harris’ wife, Nicole Beus Harris — referred questions about the congressman’s reelection to the Harris campaign.

In a statement provided Wednesday night, the campaign quoted Harris saying he is “concentrating on delivering results and tax cuts with President Trump for people of the First Congressional District — not on a candidate who raised taxes three times in his political career and works for a governor who imposed $1.5 billion in new taxes and fees on hardworking Marylanders this year.”

Day endorsed Hogan for reelection, rather than the Democratic challenger, Ben Jealous, in 2018. At the time, he argued that Hogan would be a more effective partner for the city than Jealous, though there was undoubtedly a political element to the endorsement as well.

Municipal elections in Salisbury are nonpartisan affairs.

Day also endorsed then-Comptroller Peter Franchot over Moore in the 2022 Democratic gubernatorial primary, citing his longstanding ties to Franchot and his top advisers. But as telegenic, energetic military veterans, Day and Moore have quickly bonded, and Moore has made housing affordability and availability a top priority, elevating Day’s role in the administration.

Day has created a fundraising entity through the IRS. If he chooses to run for Congress, he’ll have to set up another campaign committee with the FEC, and any contributions for his exploratory effort will then be made public. Individual donations for the Democratic primary are capped at $3,500.

But if Day does not go ahead with a congressional bid, the donations to his exploratory committee will not be disclosed.

– This story was updated on Thursday, May 1, to include comment from the Harris campaign.

By Josh Kurtz

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Board of Public Works Reaffirms State Property Tax Rate at Current Rate

April 25, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

Maryland property owners will not see an increase in the state share of the property tax rate next year, when the rate will hold steady at the same level it’s been since 2007.

The three-member Board of Public Works voted unanimously, and without debate, Wednesday to approve a recommendation to hold taxes on commercial and residential properties at 11.2 cents per $100 in assessed value. The property tax rate on utilities will remain at 28 cents per $100 of assessed value.

Taxpayers are still likely to see their tax bills go up, however, even as the tax rate remains flat. That’s because all 23 counties and Baltimore City reported increased assessments for seven consecutive years.

Still, Gov. Wes Moore (D), who chairs the board, lauded his administration’s efforts Wednesday to hold the line on property taxes for the third straight year.

“I want to highlight that, because when I first introduced this administration’s budget proposal back in January, we made one thing very, very clear … the state of Maryland will not balance this budget on the backs of the working and middle class,” Moore said.

“Everything we were going to do was to make sure that working- and middle-class families were not just protected inside of this moment, but also that we can give just a little bit of extra breathing room for families that were actually receiving a whole lot of additional pressure,” he said.

The recommendation to keep the property tax rates unchanged was made two weeks ago by the Commission on State Debt, which is chaired by Treasurer Dereck Davis, who is also a member of the Board of Public Works.

State property taxes are used to repay general obligation bond borrowing. Currently there is more than $10 billion in outstanding debt. State law calls for the rate to be set at an amount sufficient to repay the annual debt service.

The current rate does not cover that amount. The difference is made up with hundreds of millions in cash from the operating budget.

In fiscal 2026, the state will use $156 million in general funds to backfill the debt service not covered by property tax collections. That amount grows to about $400 million a year later. In fiscal 2030, the general fund will kick in an estimated $500 million for debt service.

The rate-setting vote comes in advance of meetings with three major bond rating agencies in coming weeks, as well as a scheduled June bond sale.

Maryland enjoys a triple-A bond rating, the highest, from all three major rating agencies — Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. The high rating means the state pays lower interest on money it borrows.

The state has held that coveted “triple, triple-A” rating for more than three decades. Maryland got its first triple-A rating from Standard & Poor’s in 1961. Moody’s followed 12 years later and Fitch gave Maryland its highest rating in 1993.

Maryland is one of 13 states with the highest rating of all three agencies.

But there are rumblings and concerns about a potential downgrade on the horizon.

A year ago, all three rating agencies reaffirmed the state’s creditworthiness. Moody’s, however, placed the state on a “negative outlook.”

In its report, the agency cited the “difficulties Maryland will face to achieve balanced financial operations in coming years without sacrificing service delivery goals or adding to the weight of the state government’s burden on individual and corporate taxpayers.”

That report was released six months before the election of President Donald Trump and eight months before his administration began making good on his promises to slash federal employment and funds.

Last month, Moody’s released a new report naming Maryland as the most at risk “from changing federal priorities and policies.”

Those back-to-back Moody’s reports and continuing uncertainty at the federal level, as well as how rating agencies will react to potentially billions in looming sex abuse settlements the state could be facing, are stirring concerns about a potential downgrade.

by Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters
April 24, 2025

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Federal Judge in Maryland Blocks Plan by Trump Administration to Ban DEI in Schools

April 25, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

A federal judge in Maryland temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Education’s attempt to end diversity, equity and inclusion practices in schools by threatening to withhold federal funding from those that refuse to comply.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher in Baltimore wrote Thursday that the court isn’t required to assess whether policies from the department “are good or bad, prudent or foolish, fair or unfair.”

But the court “is constitutionally required to closely scrutinize whether the government went about creating and implementing them in the manner the law requires. The government did not,” the judge wrote.

“The Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) claim, have demonstrated that they will be irreparably harmed absent preliminary relief, and have shown the equities and public interest favor them,” she wrote in a 48-page ruling.

While Gallagher focused on the process behind the policy, another federal judge blocked the attempted DEI ban based on the effects the policy would have if it was allowed to take effect.

U.S. District Judge Landya McCafferty in New Hampshire said in her 82-page ruling Thursday that a preliminary injunction was proper because the plaintiffs had shown they were likely to win on their claims that the policy is unconstitutionally vague, that it infringed on teachers’ First Amendment rights, that it would cause actual harm and that it overstepped the federal agency’s authority, among other claims.

And yet another judge, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in the District of Columbia, ruled from the bench Thursday that the government could not enforce its demand that schools certify by April 24 that they were in compliance with the anti-DEI rule because the policy was so vague that schools could not know if they were in compliance or not. Threatening the loss of federal funding “without sufficiently defining the conduct that might trigger liability, violates the Fifth Amendment’s prohibition on vagueness,” Friedrich said in a brief 16-page ruling.

The rulings by Friedrich and Gallagher — both of whom were appointed by President Donald Trump (R) in his first term — are effective nationwide. The preliminary injunction by McCafferty, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama (D), is nationwide as well, but only in effect at schools where plaintiffs in her case — the National Education Association, its New Hampshire chapter, and the Center for Black Educator Development — are represented.

Since being sworn in to his second term in January, Trump has pushed for the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion programs and policies in federal agencies, colleges and universities and K-12 schools.

The lawsuits stem from a Feb. 14 “Dear Colleague letter” from the Education Department to schools across the country that reminded K-12 schools, colleges and universities that if they do not comply with civil rights law “face potential loss of federal funding.”

But the letter, and supporting documentation, went on to declare that DEI programs violate the law as just another form of racial discrimination, using terms like “pervasive and repugnant,” “toxic,” and “insidious” instruction that use “crude racial stereotypes” to divide students.

That was followed by an April 3 letter to state education agencies given 10 days — later extended to April 24 — to certify their compliance with federal DEI ban in order to continue receiving federal assistance.

The letter was quickly challenged. In addition to the New Hampshire plaintiffs, the NAACP filed suit in Washington, D.C., and the American Federation of Teachers, its Maryland chapter and the American Sociological Association – later joined by a school district in Eugene, Oregon — sued in Maryland.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education did not respond to emails Thursday seeking comment on the multiple court rulings. But education advocates were elated.

“Today’s decision from the court affirms what we already know – the Trump administration is unlawfully threatening educators who meet the diverse needs of every student and undermining our public education system,” AFT Maryland President Kenya Campbell said in a statement. “This preliminary injunction pauses the chaos caused by targeting and attacking vital communities and temporarily protects the critical funding schools, from our K-12 schools to our higher education institutions, rely on.”

Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement that, “Our fight is far from over, but today’s decision is a victory for Black and Brown students across the country, whose right to an equal education has been directly threatened by this Administration’s corrosive actions and misinterpretations of civil rights law.”

“We look forward to prevailing against their cruel attempts to undermine the mission of the U.S. Department of Education and relegate children of color, students with disabilities, and poor students to a second-class education in a throwback to the era before Brown v. Board of Education,” he said of the 1954 Supreme Court ruling the ended the “separate but equal” doctrine that allowed for segregated schools.

‘Reaffirming its commitment’

While the court challenges were pending, Maryland school officials were working on their own response to the DEI certification letter that had been due to federal officials by Thursday.

According to a letter from State Superintendent Carey Wright, the state will continue to affirm its commitment to upholding civil rights laws. In doing that, all 24 school system superintendents signed a certification of compliance letter that was sent via email to the federal department’s Office of Civil Rights.

Wright also mentions the New Hampshire case, in which the plaintiffs had reached a short-term agreement with the department to delay implementation of the certification, which was extended Thursday by McCafferty’s ruling.

“While MSDE [Maryland State Department of Education] is unaware of any legal authority obligating it to comply with USDE’s request, MSDE is reaffirming its commitment to complying with Title VI and other relevant federal laws,” Wright wrote.

Wright and state Board of Education President Joshua Michael issued a joint statement in a video for stakeholders.

“Above all, our charge remains to ensure that all students have equal access to a high-quality education — all students, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, neighborhood, disability, socioeconomic status, or the language spoken at home, Michael said. “Not only is this our moral calling, but Maryland law gives us this charge.”

As for the case in Maryland, Gallagher did reject the plaintiffs’ request to require that the Trump administration restore DEI and civil rights guidance from previous administrations on its website. She also ruled the current department can maintain an online portal titled “End DEI,” through which community members can report instances of discrimination.

“The government is entitled to express its viewpoint on its website and to maintain a reporting portal for Title VI and Equal Protection concerns, so long as it does not actually pursue enforcement actions that are not in accordance with existing law,” the judge wrote.

by William J. Ford, Maryland Matters
April 24, 2025

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Up to 100,000 Marylanders could lose coverage if Medicaid imposes work requirements

April 20, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

As many as 109,000 Marylanders could get thrown off Medicaid if Congress follows through on a proposal to impose a work requirement for the coverage, according to a new report.

The report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation comes as some lawmakers are looking for ways to cut billions in federal spending in coming years. One proposal, to require that able-bodied adults work at least 2o hours a week to receive the benefits, would trim an estimated 7% of recipients — 109,000 people in Maryland, and about 5 million nationwide, the report estimates.

“That would be a significant amount of coverage lost,” said Katherine Hempstead, senior policy officer for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “And it would have really hard consequences for people who would lose their coverage.”

The study based its estimates on work requirement language in a 2023 bill, the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which would have required Medicaid recipients to work at least 80 hours a month unless they were exempt as a student, a family caregiver or because of a disability.

The report comes as House Republicans and the Trump administration l0ok to cut billions in federal spending over the next decade. The budget resolution recently adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives directs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid, to cut $880 billion over 10 years.

Such reductions would likely require cuts to Medicaid, the joint federal-state health care plan for low-income residents – but exactly how those cuts would be implemented is yet to be decided. Work requirements is one of the options on the table, along with other measures to cut spending to Medicaid.

“There is this quest to find some budget cuts … Work requirements is one of the options that seems to gathering a little bit broader support than some of the others,” Hempstead said. She believes it’s important to know how work requirements could impact health care coverage, even if Congress decides not to add work requirements.

Proponents of work requirements say the policy would help move people into the workforce and help save taxpayer dollars.

The Foundation for Government Accountability, a conservative think-tank, said that work requirements “move millions of able-bodied adults from welfare to work,” in a post earlier this week.

“This, in turn, would save taxpayers billions of dollars, preserve resources for the truly needy, and put the Medicare and Social Security trust funds on more solid ground,” the foundation said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a February interview with CNN that the work requirements would not “cut benefits for people who rightly deserve” them.

“You don’t want able-bodied workers on a program that is intended, for example, for single mothers with two small children who is just trying to make it,” he said. “That’s what Medicaid is for – not for 29-year-old males sitting on their couches playing video games. We’re going to find those guys and were going to send them back to work.”

But opponents of work requirements say that those policies do not reflect the challenges of finding work and proving eligibility to federal officials in order to keep coverage through Medicaid.

The report focused on states that have opted to increase Medicaid coverage through the Affordable Care Act expansion, which allows participating states to provide coverage for households that earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level income. Maryland is one of the 40 expansion states.

The report estimates that some 5 million people who live in those states could lose health care coverage if Congress imposes a work requirement to qualify for Medicaid. That would equate to about 6.9% of all 72 million people on Medicaid across the United States.

For Maryland, a work requirement could result in between 95,000 to 109,000 people losing coverage out of 1.5 million currently enrolled in Medicaid, according to the report.

The state with the largest raw number of people who could lose coverage would be California, with between 1 million to 1.2 million people affected out of the total 14 million current Medicaid recipients in the state. On the other end, between 5,000 and 6,000 of North Dakota’s 104,000 Medicaid recipients could lose coverage due to work requirements, according to the RWJF estimates.

But Hempstead also fears that work requirements will ultimately kick people off Medicaid who may still qualify for it. She said that people can often get caught up in the bureaucratic paperwork, which can be taxing for people who rely on Medicaid, as people have to prove whether they have work, are looking for work, or have a reason why they can’t work.

“Even if you accept the idea that people should have to work to get their health insurance,” she said, “what happens with work requirements is a lot of people lose coverage that are working — or are caregiving or are doing other things — and shouldn’t lose their coverage.”

Meanwhile, Hempstead noted the those who lose coverage due to work requirements would strain hospital systems, as uninsured people seek health care through other means, such as the emergency room or through charity care. That could exacerbate Maryland’s lengthy emergency room wait times, which are already some of the highest in the nation.

“There is a lot of spill-over into the health care system. As the uninsurance rate goes up and people don’t have health insurance, they try to ignore things and try to not get care. And sometimes things go away on their own and sometimes they don’t,” she said. “When things are really, really bad, they’ll go to the emergency room, where people will know that they will get treated.”

Benjamin Orr, executive director for Maryland Center on Economic Policy, said that work requirements are counterproductive and will take health insurance away from people who need it, regardless of employment.

“Our society does better when its members are healthy,” Orr said “The idea that we’re going to deny health coverage to 100,000 Marylanders or more is counterproductive to a healthy prosperous society.”

Orr also added that with talks of a looming recession, people are going to have a hard time finding jobs to fulfill work requirements to maintain health coverage. He noted that Maryland “is particularly susceptible to” layoffs in the federal government and other major institutions impacted by decisions from the Trump administration.

“It’s not a good time to be looking for a job, as we are on the cusp of a state-level recession, if not a national recession,” Orr said. “Even folks who might, otherwise in a healthy economy, be well positioned to find work may struggle to find work.”

Hempstead agrees that the work requirement logic is “backwards.”

“When people are healthy, they can work more,” she said. “It’s kind of a bad theory that you ought to be able to work in order to earn access to health care.”

by Danielle J. Brown, Maryland Matters
April 18, 2025

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Nonprofit’s report calls for broad-based approach to improving reading scores

April 16, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

Alice Tickler tries to stay positive when it comes to educating young children, but the longtime teacher admits there are some things that can make it hard — and it’s not anything the students do.

Things like the legislature’s failure to fund a training program, specifically for reading and math teachers. As a teacher for 28 years, she’s seen the benefits of what educators call a “coaching program.”

“Seeing other teachers in action, having a mentor teacher that knows how to teach reading alongside of you or coaching you, that’s huge,” said Tickler, a first-grade teacher in Queen Anne’s County public schools. “That coaching model would really benefit teachers.”

Tickler’s comments echo recommendations in a report being released Tuesday morning by Maryland READS, a nonprofit focused on the improvement of reading instruction. Providing consistent funding for teachers is just one of the recommendations in “The State of Reading in Maryland 2025: It’s Time for a Comeback after a Decade of Decline.”

While the General Assembly approved the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act last week without funding for a training program, it did approve funding for a national teacher recruitment campaign and a $2,000 relocation grant to “incentivize an out-of-state licensed teacher to move to the state.”

The report’s not all about funding, however, and acknowledges the state’s financial difficulties. Similar to a report produced last year, Tuesday’s document outlines recommendations to improve literacy, such as businesses providing employees time to serve as local tutors, and state and local leaders organizing town halls on digital education for families.

Because of the state’s fiscal challenges, the report suggests philanthropists provide financial and other resources to help create “thriving, reading ecosystems.”

According to the report, per pupil spending increased by 37% since 2013 through last year. During that time, National Assessment of Educational Progress math scores have constantly declined.

“Everything the state has done to put a system of support in place … gives us hope,” Trish Brennan-Gac, executive director of Maryland READS, said in an interview. “But I think the legislature needs to get on board a little bit more and trust her [State Superintendent Carey Wright] leadership because she has a proven track record, and I don’t think they did that this time around.”

‘Make sure children can read’

Tuesday’s document notes a report last year from the National Council on Teacher Quality. It gave Maryland and 19 other states an overall “moderate” rating on teacher training programs based on five policy actions to strengthen implementation of the “science of reading,” which Wright utilized as public schools leader in Mississippi and pushed to incorporate in Maryland.

The council gave three ratings – strong, moderate and weak – not only for the total assessment of training programs, but also separate reviews of each policy action. On the policy statement, “Reviews teacher-preparation programs to ensure they teach the Science of Reading,” Maryland received a “weak” rating.

Maryland READS recommends the state Department of Education “should immediately exercise authority, including limiting grants and contracts, and hold Maryland teacher preparation programs accountable for aligning to Science of Reading by 2028.”

According to the report, what will help teachers with literacy instruction is an agreement the department made last year to implement a four-year, $6.8 million grant from the nonprofit Ibis Group of Washington, D.C.

About $5.3 million of that grant will be used for free online training in the science of reading for at least 30,000 paraprofessionals, teachers and other staff. The remaining $1.5 million would be for Johns Hopkins University and the department to research the impact of teacher efficacy, teacher background knowledge and literacy.

But Brennan-Gac said additional and consistent support is needed.

“Having a coach in the classroom actually helps the teacher change their practice,” Brennan-Gac said. “While it’s wonderful that we’ve brought these training programs into the state, [but] if they don’t get the coaching, we’re not really leveraging that wonderful resource we have and this whole movement that we’re doing.”

Some other recommendations from the report to improve literacy include:

Starting July 1, the department should collaborate with educators and organizations to begin work on drafting an adolescent literacy policy;The legislature should tie future funding to data related to proficiency rates at community schools, those that receive high concentration of poverty grants which provide a variety of wraparound and other services; andState, local and community leaders should educate parents and guardians on limiting the use of electronic devices for their children.

“We should do everything that we can to make sure that our children can read,” said Tickler, who serves on a statewide teacher advisory council created by the department this year. “We don’t want our children to enter that pipeline that takes them to jail or drugs. We want our kids to be successful and we want our kids to be literate.”

by William J. Ford, Maryland Matters
April 15, 2025

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Local farmers, food banks plan for potential ‘blow’ to food assistance output from Trump cut

April 15, 2025 by Maryland Matters 1 Comment

Jesse Albright, along with his brother and father, has been operating Albright Farms in Baltimore County for decades, producing beef, pork and, more recently, eggs.

But Albright is one of dozens of local farmers who may lose significant business opportunities due to a recent decision to end a federal program that helps food pantries buy locally grown produce for low-income households – which he says would “be a blow” to farmers and the community.

“I think it’s great that we can provide local product to our local community,” Albright said. “It would be a blow to anybody who’s been selling through the LFPA program.”

He’s talking about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, shortened to LFPA, a Biden-era program that gives food banks extra funding to connect with local farmers and use their produce for meal assistance, as local products can be more expensive.

In March, the USDA announced that LFPA program would come to an end in November, withholding millions from Maryland food banks that could affect not only the quality of food provided in meal programs, but also have a financial toll on the dozens of farmers who are part of those agreements.

Meanwhile, more Maryland families are looking to meal assistance programs, according to Meg Kimmel, chief operating officer of the Maryland Food Bank.

“At a time when there is historic levels of need that are not dropping, we cannot have our food distribution totals go backwards,” Kimmel said Friday.

The Maryland Food Bank serves as a meal assistance hub for a majority of the state, connecting with local food banks and pantries to expand outreach for families needing extra help putting food on the table. The Maryland Food Bank has LFPA agreements with 44 local Maryland farmers, and receives about $4 million through LFPA every 18 months.

Without those additional dollars, the Maryland Food Bank will have to “try to spread our dollars more broadly,” which will likely mean fewer purchases from local growers.

Capitol Area Food Bank is Maryland’s other food assistance hub, serving Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. The Maryland Food Bank covers the rest of the counties and Baltimore.

There are 33 local Maryland growers and farmers that work through the LFPA program with the Capitol Area Food Bank, which receives over $5 million from LFPA.

In a written statement Friday, Capital Area Food Bank CEO Radha Muthiah, said that “in Maryland alone, the LFPA has so far enabled CAFB to purchase and distribute more than 3 million meals worth of fresh local food, including items that we typically haven’t been able to offer to our clients due to higher costs.”

“The program has also been beneficial for farmers, giving them more certainty that they have a market for the foods they’re producing,” Muthiah said in the statement.

Albright can attest to that. Albright Farms entered an LFPA agreement with the Maryland Food Bank during the COVID pandemic, providing eggs for the food bank.

He said that the partnership with food banks through the LFPA program can help small farms, such as his own, build up production because they’re “growing product with the intent that they’re going to sell it to the food bank.”

“They’re putting an extra field of cabbage or tomatoes or sweet corn — whatever that product might be. They’re putting in additional acres and additional crop specific for the food banks that they’re selling to,” he said. “It’s no different with us and the chickens … We started small and as they’ve asked for more, we’ve grown our product more.”

Kimmel calls the LFPA a “win-win” for the food bank, families, and the local economy.

“We were able to leverage federal dollars to do things that we haven’t been able to do. We haven’t been able to buy highly-nutritious local food and pay farmers and producers a fair wage for their work. It was prohibitively expensive for us in the past,” she said.

“It’s an economic stimulus program that has benefited our food system – there is nothing else that I have seen in the many years of being in this work that is remotely close to this,” Kimmel said.

If the LFPA program comes to an end on Nov. 30 as currently planned, Kimmel and the food bank will have to make hard decisions on how best to stretch their available funds. She said the first cost-saving action would be to invest in more fresh produce – which would be cheaper than protein, milk and eggs – but their goal is to sustain the number of pounds of food delivered to families. Asking for more donations would be a last resort for them.

Kimmel hopes the Trump administration will reconsider, and restore the program or create a new one that would achieve the same goals as the LFPA.

“It’s not just about buying food, it’s about investing and building in a stronger food system for our tiny little state, which I think is pretty magical,” she said.

Albright would also like to see the program continue, but he and his family are already talking about how to adapt if the LFPA agreements fall through.

“I think farmers have learned to be adaptive,” Albright said. “We try to plan – but I can’t plan for Mother Nature, so I think we’ve learned as a whole, farmers have to become adaptive to the ever-changing environment that we’re operating in.

“If we end up in a tight spot, we’ll have to figure it out,” he said.

by Danielle J. Brown, Maryland Matters
April 14, 2025

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

House, Senate ratify budget compromise on final day

April 10, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

Passing a budget took longer than usual this year. This time, however, it was ongoing federal budget cuts and a congressional debate over spending that dragged on and had fiscal leaders making corrections in real time.

The House and then the Senate on Monday ratified a conference committee agreement on a $67 billion overall spending plan for fiscal 2026 over the objections of Republican members, who could do little to stop the package.

The plan includes what supporters frame as budget cuts — holding vacant positions open and shifting costs to the counties plus other moves — and $1.6 billion in new taxes and fees, including two new high-income tax brackets and a new 3% sales tax on IT and data services.

“From the poor to the middle class, to the upper middle class,” Minority Leader Del Jason C. Buckel (R-Allegany) said. “I’m telling you that at the end of the day, this will be one of the worst votes that almost any of you will ever have taken – but we’re going to do it anyway.”

The House passed the budget 101-39, and the companion reconciliation bill, which contains the tax increases, 94-46.

The Senate followed the House, passing both bills by votes of 33-14 and 29-18, respectively.

All votes fell mostly, if not entirely, along party lines.

Senate Budget and Taxation Chair Guy Guzzone (D-Howard) said that the budget agreement “puts Maryland in a strong fiscal position in the face of the challenges ahead, protecting our shared values and priorities.”

But Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready (R-Frederick and Carroll) said there was a “difference of viewpoint” in how the state should handle taxpayer money.

“There’s a difference of viewpoint here … between the idea that people give us their money, and we’re supposed to try to be good stewards of it,” Ready said, “And then there’s this attitude of … where the money is really, the government’s, and we’re going to decide how much we’re going to let people keep and how much you’re going to have.”

The overall budget for fiscal 2026 is just over 1% larger than the current year’s. The general fund budget — the portion for which the state directly taxes Maryland residents — is about $400 million smaller.

Even so, the Democratic supermajority passed a spending plan that included $1.6 billion in taxes and fees.

In addition to two new higher income tax brackets, there is some small tax relief. Lawmakers said 92% of taxpayers will see a refund or at least no increase in their income taxes.

“We’ve got to make sure we are reforming the tax code and not on the backs of middle-class families,” Gov. Wes Moore (D) told reporters Monday afternoon. “I want middle-class families to get a tax cut. Period and full stop. Anything that was not going to adjust on that was not going to be acceptable.”

For those who see a tax break, it will run between $50 and $65 on average.

Moore’s plan, as proposed in January, included a plan that promised to cut or at least not increase taxes for 60% of Marylanders. The average tax break on that plan was about $173.

The governor has not said if the final plan passed by lawmakers provides the breathing room for which he hoped.

Democrats praised the budget for resolving a projected $3 billion structural budget deficit for fiscal 2026. The plan is also said to have reduced a similar sized fiscal 2027 structural deficit to a manageable $300 million.

by Bryan P. Sears and Danielle J. Brown, Maryland Matters
April 7, 2025

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Sections

More

‘Give faith’

‘Reaffirming its commitment’

‘Make sure children can read’