ANNAPOLIS, Md. - With thousands of Marylanders still losing jobs in the pandemic, health-care groups are urging state lawmakers to make it easier for people to get health coverage when they apply for unemployment benefits.

House Bill 1002 would improve Maryland's struggling Unemployment Insurance system, said Vinny DeMarco, president of the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative. The bill would create a checkbox on unemployment applications for information on Maryland's health-insurance exchange.

DeMarco said losing a job often means losing health coverage, and people may not realize they're eligible for low-cost or free health care.

"It builds on the very successful Easy Enrollment program, which Maryland enacted in 2019, which connects people at tax time with the health exchange, and that's enrolled thousands of people who didn't know that they were eligible," he said. "And now we're doing the same here, we hope, with the unemployment-insurance filing."

HB 1002 still is in committee, and DeMarco said it's expected to get bipartisan support. The bill that first established the Easy Enrollment program passed with major bipartisan backing in 2019, including support from Gov. Larry Hogan.

DeMarco said making it easier to connect more folks with health coverage also is an equity issue. He noted that unemployment among people with disabilities has risen sharply during the pandemic. Also, data show the gap between white unemployment and people of color also has expanded.

"We know that African-Americans and Latinos have been much more likely to lose jobs during the pandemic, and that's been a tragedy, and many of them also lose their health insurance," he said. "We've done focus groups saying that people in those situations are just too inundated to understand how to also access the health-benefit exchange in Maryland."

HB 1002 also proposes hiring more staff for the unemployment program phone lines to help speed up application times. Meanwhile in Congress, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., plans to introduce legislation to make Maryland-style Easy Enrollment a national program.


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Summer is usually a fun time to enjoy the outdoors with family and friends, but experts said Missourians should be taking precautions to keep a day of fun in the sun from causing serious health concerns.

With climate change, summers have been measurably hotter in the Midwest than in previous years.

Dr. Peter Panagos, professor of emergency medicine and neurology at Washington University-Saint Louis, said if you are going to be outside, choose the right time of day.

"Typically in the Midwest this time of year, it's quite hot with ambient temperatures above 90," Panagos pointed out. "If you can avoid the hottest part of the day, with often can be around noon, between, like, 10 and 2 p.m. or 3 p.m., where the sun is at its highest and its hottest."

Panagos noted it is best to plan activities for early morning or early evening. If you are exercising or hiking, he suggested you go around 7 or 8 in the morning. He advised hikers and runners to take plenty of water and a wide-brimmed hat or baseball cap to help keep your face shaded and your head cool.

Even if you take precautions, being outdoors in the summer can lead to dehydration and sometimes, heat-related illnesses. Panagos emphasized knowing the signs of heat stress can help you deal with it before it becomes a serious matter.

"You may notice things such as dry mouth, kind of all of a sudden shutting down or lack of sweating, dizziness, confusion, headaches, muscle ache," Panagos outlined. "That is your body's way of telling you that it's advancing from just heat exposure to potential heat exhaustion."

Kids love the outdoors, and favorite summer activities include playing their favorite sports, bike riding or going to the pool to cool off. But children are often more susceptible to injuries than adults.

Dr. Donna O'Shea, chief medical Officer of population health for UnitedHealthcare, said a video chat with your doctor can help you decide whether to treat a problem at home or seek medical help.

"Virtual care can help you determine how much, how long to wait, before you go to the emergency room," O'Shea recommended. "Same thing even for sunburns, or for bike safety: 'Do I need to go in?' 'Do you think I need stitches?' And we don't think about that."

Until the pandemic, telehealth and telemedicine were still outliers in health care but they have gone mainstream, especially benefiting underserved and rural New Mexico communities.

Heather Dimeris, director of the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth at the Health Resources and Services Administration, the primary federal agency tasked with improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable, said a national conference being held today will bring public- and private-sector leaders together to discuss topics related to best practices.

"Telehealth licensure, agreements between states to help practitioners practice across state lines, as well as access to broadband," Dimeris outlined. "This is free and virtual and it's open for the public."

Dimeris explained government data show patients who get telehealth services have the same, and in some cases better, outcomes as in-person visits.

Dimeris noted underserved communities often see benefits and improvements in their quality of life through behavioral-health services via telehealth. And those who qualify can leverage the federal Lifeline program, a free government phone service through the Federal Communications Commission.

"Internet is really a foundation of good telehealth services and we can do audio-only appointments, or appointments over the phone, but it's always nice to at least have the video chat," Dimeris pointed out. "That connectivity can be really hard in remote areas of New Mexico."

She added expanding virtual visits could cut down lengthy waitlists for urgent appointments. And she acknowledged many people seeking mental health services prefer to talk with a doctor in order to bypass stigma sometimes experienced with office visits in small communities.

A new analysis from Washington state shows passing an initiative making a long-term care benefit program optional could cost taxpayers millions.

Initiative 2124 would make optional the WA Cares program, in which workers contribute a little more than 0.5% of their paychecks for access to long-term care benefits. The Office of Financial Management estimates passage of the initiative would cost the state between $12 million and $31 million within three years.

Kristin Hyde, press secretary for the group No on 2124, said other analyses have found even greater consequences.

"This initiative would effectively actually end the program, it would shutter it, it would bankrupt the program," Hyde contended. "By 2027, in effect benefits would not be able to be paid out for the nearly 4 million workers who have been vesting in the program."

Supporters of the initiative, including Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, said the program provides little practical effect and people should have choice on whether to contribute to the program. Under the program, Washingtonians will have access to up to $36,500 in benefits from the WA Cares Fund starting in 2026.

Hyde noted the program can be used to pay home aides, for instance, which could help more than 800,000 family caregivers in the state. She added many caregivers are women who sometimes have to choose between work and taking care of family members.

"Long-term care is not covered by regular health insurance and it's also not covered by Medicare," Hyde pointed out. "It's this gap and so we're really in a rock and a hard place here. We don't have anywhere to turn."

Hyde explained it is why state lawmakers approved the WA Cares Fund. She stressed the benefits are flexible and available for use on expenses like home modifications as well.


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