Latest news with #HouseHealthandGovernmentOperationsCommittee
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Kalyanaraman becomes latest to leave Maryland Department of Health
Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman testified in March on nursing home inspections to the House Health and Government Operations Committee. (Photo by Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters) The deputy secretary of public health services is leaving the Maryland Department of Health this week after two years serving under the Moore Administration and more than a decade in both private and public health services in Maryland, state officials confirmed Monday. Tuesday will be Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman's last day with the department. 'We thank Dr. Kalyanaraman for raising his hand to serve the people of Maryland — especially through the COVID pandemic — as a dedicated champion for public health,' according to a spokesperson for Gov. Wes Moore. His departure is the latest in a string that began in February, when then-Secretary Laura Herrera Scott left amid several controversies at the department, including oversight issues at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, a high-security hospital that has been riddled with complaints of patient abuse and violence. Secretary Meena Seshamani, a former top official with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, took the reins of the department in April. Just last week, Erin McCullen left her position as the department's chief of staff, a position she's held since 2023. McCullen also worked in the department in various positions from 2013 through 2017. Chase Cook also left his job last week as the department's director of communications, following several years in the position. Former CMS administrator takes helm of controversy-laden health department As the deputy secretary of public health services, Kalyanaraman has spoken on a wide variety of health and safety issues throughout the years — from heat illnesses and dental health workforce to bird flu threat levels and more. Before working with the Moore administration, Kalyanaraman served as the health officer for Anne Arundel County from September 2019 through March 2023, leading the county through the COVID-19 pandemic. 'He was a really, really good resource for the issues that we dealt with during COVID,' said Sen. Pam Beidle (D-Anne Arundel), chair of the Senate Finance Committee. 'He was always willing to do a webinar with us and our constituents. I think he did a really good job guiding our county through COVID.' Before his time in local government, Kalyanaraman served from 2012 to 2019 as the chief health officer for Baltimore-based Health Care for the Homeless, a nonprofit that provides health care and housing support to 10,000 people in the region annually. He leaves a health department that's trying to pull itself out of a series of controversies and challenges. During the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers grilled Kalyanaraman for answers about one of those controversies — a significant backlog of nursing home annual inspections. Kalyanaraman argued that the department had been making progress on the backlog of state inspections, but lawmakers remain concerned that some facilities had not received annual inspections for over four years, putting vulnerable senior citizens at risk of inadequate care. Kalyanaraman declined Monday to comment on his departure. Neither McCullen nor Cook responded to a request for comment. But McCullen said in a social media post about her departure from the health department that she was 'filled with immense gratitude for the privilege of serving alongside such dedicated public servants.' 'The experience has been invaluable, and I am forever thankful for the opportunity to contribute to the health and well-being of Marylanders alongside some of the best people you will ever meet,' she said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Washington Post
16-03-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Crematory horrors spur Maryland lawmakers to push for reform
Following the discovery of mishandled remains and decomposing bodies at a Maryland crematory in January, state lawmakers are proposing stiffer penalties and heavier oversight for the death industry. Del. Harry Bhandari (D-Baltimore County), who presented H.B. 1555 to the House Health and Government Operations Committee on Thursday night, said he began drafting the bill in February after lawmakers first heard about families whose loved ones were sent to Heaven Bound Cremation Services in White Plains, Maryland. Horrifying conditions that led the state to shutter the crematory left those families reeling and questioning how their loved ones' bodies had been handled and whether they received the right ashes.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mineral bill heads toward a ‘chrometastic' finish
Lobbyist Ashlie Bagwell (left) speaks to her client, David Shore, before a hearing Thursday in the House Health and Government Operations Committee. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) David Shore is a little obsessed with chromite. It's infectious. Spend any amount of time with him and you will likely come away with an appreciation of a mineral you probably did not know existed. He's happy to correct that oversight. 'Chromite is in everything,' Shore says with a smile. He makes note of a reporter's phone. 'It's everywhere. In everything that's cool, there's a little bit of chromite, I would say,' Shore explains. 'If you look at your phone, the computer chip, your car, your plane, you will see that there is stainless steel in all of them. Chromium … is in all of those. And chromite was first discovered in America.' Thousands of pounds of it are recycled each year. The U.S. government keeps a stockpile because of its strategic value, he explains. Shore has been on a seven-year journey to move the unremarkable looking mineral onto a list of official state symbols. He even signs his emails 'chrometastically yours' or in other variations that play off the name of the mineral. On Friday, a series of committee and preliminary legislative votes moved chromite closer to official recognition. State symbol bills are not easy to pass. They are also not always popular. They are frequently seen as silly or derided as wastes of time. If the chromite bill is approved and signed into law, Maryland would join more than two dozen states that have designated an official state mineral. None has adopted chromite, which was first discovered in Baltimore County. Maryland has 24 official state symbols. The list includes a state sport and team sport, dinosaur, dog and cat, and crustacean. The last state symbol added was rye whiskey in 2023. It was the first time in 15 years that a new state symbol made the list. In 2008, the legislature approved an official state exercise (walking) and official dessert (Smith Island cake). The bills come almost every year. They almost always die in committee. In addition to chromite, lawmakers this year will consider other candidates for state symbols, including a state carnivorous plant, a state fruit and an official state cocktail. The State Archives created a set of standards to guide the adoption of new symbols. Included on that list is a proposed symbol's historical significance, uniqueness, relevance to state history and universal acceptance. 'Maryland's varying geology yields many minerals within the state,' said Stephen Van Ryswick, director of the Maryland Geological Survey. 'However, no other mineral has such a unique instrumental history post-colonial Maryland, industrialization.' Van Ryswick testified Thursday on a panel in favor of official recognition for the mineral. The mineral was first discovered in the Bare Hills area of Baltimore County in 1808 by Isaac Tyson Jr. Deposits were also found in Baltimore City and in Carroll, Cecil, Harford, Howard and Montgomery counties. Tyson founded Baltimore Chrome Works. The plant was the first in the nation to manufacture chromium chemicals. The products were used in paints and in metal alloys including stainless steel. The mineral was exported out of Fells Point. Deposits in the region produced most of the world supply of the mineral until the 1850s. Chromite continues to be mined, though no longer in Maryland. But evidence of its importance to the region remains. Many thoroughfares in Maryland carry names like Chrome Road in Cecil County and Chrome Mine Road in Montgomery County. Abandoned mines can be found in some state parks. Shore is no stranger to the halls of Annapolis. When he was 7, Shore appeared before the House Judiciary Committee, testifying in opposition to a bill prohibiting the sale of tusks and rhinoceros horns. 'There was a bill to abolish the sale of any kind of animal, bone or ivory product in Maryland,' Shore said during an interview. 'I wanted to get the bill amended due to a portion of it that would have accidentally, I assume, included the sale of rocks and fossils for animals that have been dead for millions of years.' The bill died in committee. It was while waiting to testify that Shore met then Del. William C. 'Bill' Frick (D-Montgomery). The two bonded over Girl Scout Cookies. Shore used that connection — politics is all about relationships, after all — a year later when he asked Frick in an email to sponsor a state symbol bill for chromite. Frick, who is now a lobbyist, said Shore's enthusiasm for the mineral resulted in the delegate's first-ever state symbol bill. It also led to an unlikely meeting with a well-known lobbyist from a well-known firm. Ashlie Bagwell, a lobbyist with Harris Jones & Malone, said her initial meeting with Shore in a Montgomery County library was meant to be informational. She agreed, at Frick's request, to pass on some tips for presenting the bill to lawmakers. She left with a new client whom she represented pro bono. 'He's just so enthusiastic,' Bagwell said. Shore testified passionately about the chromite bill that year. Included in his comments was a story about one of its earliest known uses: The mineral was used in yellow paint on the carriage used by the daughter of a British monarch. Shore declared it one of his favorite facts, adding he could go on for hours about the mineral. But the bill failed that year. Shore was not disheartened. 'I would say that I because I came with the bill from a place of just loving the history of chromite and the history of Maryland … it was still, overall, a very positive experience,' Shore said. Shore's unsuccessful 2017 attempt is included in an activity book provided to children touring the State House. The bill sat dormant until last year with Sen. Craig Zucker, who sponsored the effort in the Senate when Shore was 10, wanted to give it another shot. 'I was pretty new to the Senate,' said Zucker, speaking of the 2017 effort. 'David was just something special, so energetic, and so I put in the bill on chromite.' Zucker, who has only sponsored the one state symbol bill, said the issue faded away until last year. 'This past … year, I'm going to a school and handing out the packet, which is basically a coloring book of all the state symbols and everything that represents the state of Maryland to children,' Zucker said. 'On one of the pages, it talks about pieces of legislation that have been thought of by children, and they had a section on those that were introduced by children that didn't pass, and it had chromite. And I thought: we have to figure this out.' That's when Zucker said he thought about a do-over with Shore. 'I said it's already in the book. It's you. It was first found in Maryland, let's see about giving it another shot,' he said. This time around Shore has even more support. Zucker is the chair of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee Capital Budget Subcommittee. The House sponsor is Del. Marc Korman, chair of the House Environment and Transportation Committee. 'We have actual history with chromite in Maryland,' said Korman, who represents the district where Shore lives. 'It was discovered here and it's a really useful metal. We had mines here. So there's a real state connection, unlike some of the other things we sometimes have bills about.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Korman said he understands many will pooh-pooh the idea of a state mineral. He said there can be a value to state symbols. 'If you look through the little book that they give kids when they come to this building for tours, it has a bunch of the state symbols in it,' he said. 'That's a chance for those kids to learn about the history and heritage of their state. Having a state mineral, a state bird, a state flower, a state sport like jousting, or team sport like lacrosse — those things resonate with people and let them learn more about the state where they call home.' Bagwell is back helping lobby the bill. She brought with her Caitlin McDonough, another lobbyist with Harris Jones & Malone, who also happens to be the wife of House Appropriations Chair Del. Ben Barnes (D-Prince George's and Anne Arundel). The couple's son, Jack, a fourth grade student, testified on behalf of the bill Thursday, ending his comments with a reminder that passing the bill would come at no cost to the state – an important fact in a tight budget year. Similarly, in the Senate, Zucker's son Sam, 11, testified on behalf of his dad's bill. On Friday, the Senate became the first chamber to move the bill. Passage next week would send it to the House where that chamber's version has already moved out of committee. 'This legislation is a great example of Marylanders bringing ideas for legislation,' Zucker said after the vote. 'In this case, it happened to be an idea from a 10-year-old. It's on its way to a 'chrometastic' finish.'
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Maryland lawmakers propose abortion grant program as requests for help ‘skyrocket'
BALTIMORE — Dozens of Maryland lawmakers want to create a stable funding source for abortion care months after state residents voted to enshrine access to reproductive health care, including abortion, in the state constitution. House Bill 930, sponsored by Del. Lesley Lopez, a Montgomery County Democrat, would create the Public Health Abortion Grant Program under the state health department to help fund abortion care for people who are uninsured, underinsured or unable to use their insurance due to risks posed by communication from insurance carriers regarding coverage, according to the bill language. 'We'll have lots of hard choices to make this session, but this bill is not one of them,' she said at a House Health and Government Operations Committee bill hearing on Thursday. 'Today, we have the opportunity to invest in the health of residents, improve economic security for our state and to meet the moment with no burden to taxpayers. Abortion is not a luxury, it is health care, and Maryland voters resoundingly agree.' In November, 76% of Marylanders voted in favor of the statewide ballot question concerning access to reproductive health care. Funding for the grant program would come from surplus insurance premiums mandated under the Affordable Care Act. A $1 premium is charged per member per month, exclusively for abortion coverage, Lopez said, and those funds are kept in separate accounts. The Maryland Insurance Administration believes $25 million in funds are available and an additional $3 million is generated annually, she added. To ensure that funds are being used for direct services, Lopez said, the Maryland Department of Health must also give at least 90% of the total program funds to eligible organizations that provide abortion care services. Even though Maryland has abortion protections in place, there are still issues with access to care for certain populations and locations, as well as the reality of providers leaving the field, said Karen Nelson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Maryland. 'Having this fund would limit the stress that's put on providers, and most importantly, the patients themselves,' she said. Lynn McCann-Yeh, co-executive director of the Baltimore Abortion Fund, said requests for assistance from her nonprofit have 'continued to skyrocket' from both Maryland residents and people traveling from out of state for care, leading to limited funding and patients being turned away. Patients sit in waiting rooms across the state, she said, hoping funding will come through and they can be seen, but help isn't always available. 'Our case managers have to tell them, 'I'm sorry, we don't have enough, the best that we can do is give you a ride home or buy a plane ticket so that you can get back,'' McCann-Yeh said of people seeking abortions later in their pregnancies. 'For later care clients, that means they're often remaining pregnant and forced to give birth against their will. It is sickening that this is happening, and it is happening with increasing frequency.' Opponents, however, argued against pushing more funding for abortion. 'The state is actively engaging in abortion coercion because it prioritizes abortion funding while depriving women equal access to life-saving alternatives to abortion,' said Laura Bogley, executive director of Maryland Right to Life. 'If the state really trusts women to decide, then bring these pro-life bills to a vote and give women real choices. The multibillion-dollar abortion industry does not need or deserve more public funding.' ----------
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Marathon of abortion-related bills in House Health committee shows fight is not over in the state
Del. Lesley Lopez sponsorsed HB 930, which would create a grant fund to help expand abortion access. The bill is part of the priority legislation for the The Women Legislators of Maryland. (Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters) Marylanders overwhelmingly voted in support of enshrining reproductive rights into the state constitution back in November, but that doesn't mean the debate ended on Election Day. A slew of abortion-related bills from both sides of the issue were heard over an afternoon of testimony Thursday before the House Health and Government Operations Committee. It started with a bill that would tap into around $25 million to expand abortion services, from a fund collected by Affordable Care Act insurers, and ended with a handful of bills from anti-abortion Republicans that have not made it out of committee in recent years. Despite the outcome of the reproductive freedom ballot question last year, both sides on Thursday claimed their bills to be what Marylanders want it comes to abortion. 'Abortion has long been used as a political football,' Del. Lesley Lopez (D-Montgomery) said in opening remarks for House Bill 930. 'But the truth it clear. It is widely supported across political parties: 76% of Marylanders supported adding full reproductive access to our Constitution.' Her bill would utilize money that has been collecting dust for around 15 years. A requirement in the Affordable Care Act, it prompts insurers collect a $1 premium per person per month that can only be used for abortion services. Lopez says that over the course of 15 years, the fund has accumulated some $25 million, which could be used to provide abortion coverage for uninsured or underinsured individuals. Her bill would create a grant fund with those dollars to do so. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE She noted that Maryland plays a unique role in the post-Dobbs-decision world, as the state is considered a safe haven for those seeking abortions coming from states that have restricted or even banned abortions. 'An unpredictable patchwork of rights and restrictions force our urgent attention,' Lopez said. 'Our work is more important now than ever before.' But some Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion advocates think Maryland should take a cue from states like Texas and restrict abortion access when doctors can hear the 'fetal heartbeat,' which can be as early as six weeks of gestation, according to state analysts. Del. Ric Metzgar (R-Baltimore County) is sponsoring House Bill 108, which would require a physician to listen for a fetal heartbeat before administering an abortion, which would be prohibited if a heartbeat is heard except under certain circumstances. Metzgar was not able to introduce the bill himself, so his chief of staff, Paul Blitz, presented the bill to the committee. Jonathan Alexandre, legislative counsel for the Maryland Family Institute, argued that the heartbeat is the 'indisputable' sign of life. 'So much happens with the engine that is our heart,' he said in support of the bill. 'And it is the scientifically proven, indisputable way for us to know that there are signs of life within that child, within that human. It is the uninterrupted, universal sign of life. The only thing that does interrupt that heartbeat, legally in the state, is an abortionist's scalpel or an abortion pill, meant to stop that child's heartbeat.' The hearing moved swiftly on the restrictive bills, with only a couple advocates speaking in support of each bill. Two Republican-backed bills take issue with the state's lack of reporting abortion data to federal officials, and offered to change that with legislation to require data collection on abortions in the state. House Bill 1357 is sponsored by Del. Teresa E. Reilly (R-Cecil and Harford), who could not make the hearing due to a family conflict. Del. Thomas S. Hutchinson (R-Middle Shore), introduced the bill in her stead, which would require the Department of Health to collect data on the costs of birth, postpartum care, pregnancy care, and abortion in the state. Laura Bogley, executive director for Maryland Right to Life, emphasized that the bill would not restrict anyone's access to an abortion. 'It would advance women's reproductive health care by enabling the state to accurately measure the degree of which public investments in reproductive health care are actually serving the needs of pregnant women and their families,' Bogley said. 'It has no bearings on a woman's access to abortion.' Del. Robin Grammer (R-Baltimore County) introduced House Bill 373, which would have the state report data to the annual Abortion Surveillance report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Maryland is one of only four states that does not participate, along with California, New Hampshire and New Jersey. Sources like the Guttmacher Institute track abortion data in Maryland. According to Guttmacher, more than 30,000 abortions occurred in Maryland in 2020. But those in support of Grammer's legislation say that Maryland should contribute to the federal dataset. Jeffrey S. Trimbath, president of the Maryland Family Institute, argues that data collection is valuable regardless of whether someone is pro-abortion or anti-abortion. 'Regardless of which side of the debate you're on, you should want good data,' Trimbath said. 'How many abortions are taking place in Maryland? Are there certain neighborhoods, economic groups, ethnic groups in which abortions are taking place more than others? 'Are there correlational indicators that inform this practice — such as the number of previous abortions, number of live births, the person's marital status?' he asked. 'All of these are important questions that could inform good policy on either side of this issues.'
