BALTIMORE, MD — Marylanders who purchase health insurance through the state's marketplace are facing a premium increase of about 15%, and costs could climb even higher in coming years, due to cuts from the federal government.
Thousands of residents who use the Maryland Health Connection to get their benefits are affected by the increase. Vincent DeMarco, of Maryland Healthcare for All, warned that some people could see their monthly premiums jump from $50 to $450.
"Many, many Marylanders are gonna see increases in their premiums. Some will find it too high to even continue," DeMarco said.
When the federal government cut off money flowing into state programs, Maryland stepped in to fill the gap. DeMarco credited Gov. Wes Moore's administration for limiting the damage.
"I am very pleased to say that these problems are less in Maryland than other states. Thank you, Governor Wes Moore and his administration for doing all they can to protect Marylanders, particularly lower income Marylanders, from the bad actions, particularly the horrible HR 1, which makes it harder for people to stay on Medicaid, and the failure to pass on and continue the tax credits for people," DeMarco said.
Those state-level actions, however, only cover the next year. DeMarco said the Maryland legislature would need to act for costs to remain more affordable beyond that.
"The good work that the Moore administration has done to keep people on their coverage can't really continue beyond 2027 without additional resources," DeMarco said.
Maryland Healthcare for All is calling on the state to continue its assistance to prevent steep cost increases. But the state is facing a $2.6 billion budget deficit, meaning relief may ultimately need to come from the federal government, a prospect DeMarco said is unlikely under the current administration.
"Even if Congress passes measures, which they probably will, to go back to those tax credits which are keeping people on their insurance, almost surely Donald Trump would veto that. And they couldn't override it, which means in 2028, tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people will lose healthcare coverage in Maryland unless our General Assembly acts to pass measures to protect them from this problem," DeMarco said.
Open enrollment began at the start of November and runs through Jan. 15. To get coverage that begins at the start of the new year, residents must be signed up by the end of December.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
