HB 123

Preserve Telehealth Access Act of 2021

Sponsor: Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk (District 21)Committee: Health and Government OperationsSubject: Public HealthStatus: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 70 (as of Dec 1, 2021)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Altering the health care services the Maryland Medical Assistance Program, subject to a certain limitation, is required to provide through telehealth; requiring that certain services provided under the Program include counseling and treatment; prohibiting the Program from excluding from coverage a behavioral health care service provided to a recipient in person solely because the service may be provided through telehealth; requiring the Maryland Health Care Commission to submit a certain report on telehealth; etc.

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Analysis reads the bill text, the fiscal note, and the witness list. It is generated by Claude and reviewed by nobody, so check the source documents before you rely on it.

Testimony (66)

MGA witness list

FAV 55FavorableFWA 6Favorable with amendmentsUNF 2UnfavorableINFO 3Information only

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	Bresnahan, Tammy	AARP Maryland	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Nicklas, Andrewlobbyist	Adventist HealthCare, Inc.	Written (PDF)
FAV	Hale, Lauralobbyist	American Heart Association	Written (PDF)
FAV	Avins, Miriam	Baltimore City Commission on Sustainability	Written (PDF)
FAV	Berkowitz, Rosalyn	Baltimore County Commission for Women	Oral
FAV	Potter, Audrey	Baltimore County Commission for Women	Written (PDF)
FAV	Breidenstine, Adriennelobbyist	Behavioral Health System Baltimore	Written (PDF)
FAV	Heath, Geoffrey	ChristianaCare, Union Hospital	Written (PDF)
FAV	Ogunlegan, Adeyinka	Comcast	Oral
FAV	Cyphers, Moiralobbyist	Compass Government Relations	Written (PDF)
FAV	Bartlett, Olivia	DoTheMostGood	Written (PDF)
FAV	Gonzalez, Rachel	Health Care for the Homeless	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Coble, Annie	Johns Hopkins	Written (PDF)
FAV	Hasselfeld, Brian	Johns Hopkins Medicine	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Nitkin, David	Johns Hopkins Medicine/Howard County General Hospital	Written (PDF)
FAV	Arneson, Emilylobbyist	Kennedy Krieger Institute	Written (PDF)
FAV	Thierman, Jonathan	LifeBridge Health	Oral
FAV	Peña-Melnyk, Joseline	MGA Delegate Pena-Melnyk	Written (PDF)
FAV	Bennardi, Maryland Department of Health /Office of Governmen	Maryland Dept. of Health	Written (PDF)
FAV	Raswant, Maansi	Maryland Hospital Association	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Plante, Cecilia	Maryland Legislative Coalition	Written (PDF)
FAV	Orosz, Samantha	Maryland Rural Health Association	Written (PDF)
FAV	Townsend, Pegeen A.lobbyist	MedStar Health	Written (PDF)
FAV	Martin, Dan	Mental Health Association of Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Spotts, Douglas	Meritus Health	Written (PDF)
FAV	Frey, Leslie	Montgomery County	Written (PDF)
FAV	Koravos, JoAnne	Montgomery County Women's Democratic Club	Written (PDF)
FAV	Britt, Adiena	N/A	Position only
FAV	Rosen-Cohen, Nancy	NCADD-Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Lang, Beverly	Nurse Practitioner Association of Maryland	Position only
FAV	O'Connor, Patricia	Office of the Attorney General	Written (PDF)
FAV	Conner, Charleslobbyist	Office of the Baltimore County Executive	Written (PDF)
FAV	Alsobrooks, Angela	Prince George's County Executive	Written (PDF)
FAV	Black, Ashley	Public Justice Center	Written (PDF)
FAV	Faulkner, Rachael	Public Policy Partners	Written (PDF)
FAV	Matthews, Dakota	Rural Maryland Council	Written (PDF)
FAV	Grossi, Jeffreylobbyist	Sheppard Pratt	Written (PDF)
FAV	Rice, Mathew	The Arc of Maryland	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Blalock, Isabel	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Brocato, Barbaralobbyist	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Delegate Pena-Melnyk, Delegate Pena-Melnyklegislator	Individual	Position only
FAV	Doherty, Daniel	Individual	Position only
FAV	Doyle, Lori	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Elliott, Robynlobbyist	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Fidler, Sara	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Greenfield, Aaronlobbyist	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Kauffman, Dannalobbyist	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Kauffman, Katie	Individual	Oral
FAV	Klapper, Stephanielobbyist	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Looney, Sean	Individual	Oral
FAV	Martin, Rhya	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Miicke , Sarahlobbyist	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Steinberg, Deborahlobbyist	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Vento, Thomas	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Wise, Steve	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
UNF	Moore, Winnie	Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapist	Oral
UNF	Office of Governmental Affairs, Maryland Department of Health	Maryland Dept. of Health	Written (PDF)
FWA	Rivkin, Deborahlobbyist	CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield	Oral
FWA	Celentano, Matthewlobbyist	Funk & Bolton, P.A.	Oral
FWA	Tompsett, Thomas	Harris Jones & Malone	Written (PDF)

Showing 60 of 66

Organizations on record

AARP MarylandFAV 1

Adventist HealthCare, Inc.FAV 1

American Heart AssociationFAV 1

Americans United for LifeINFO 1

Baltimore City Commission on SustainabilityFAV 1

Baltimore County Commission for WomenFAV 2

Behavioral Health System BaltimoreFAV 1

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShieldFWA 1

ChristianaCare, Union HospitalFAV 1

ComcastFAV 1

Compass Government RelationsFAV 1

DoTheMostGoodFAV 1

Funk & Bolton, P.A.FWA 1

Harris Jones & MaloneFWA 1

Health Care for the HomelessFAV 1

Johns HopkinsFAV 1

Johns Hopkins MedicineFAV 1

Johns Hopkins Medicine/Howard County General HospitalFAV 1

Kaiser PermanenteFWA 1

Kennedy Krieger InstituteFAV 1

LifeBridge HealthFAV 1

Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and TherapistUNF 1

Maryland Dept. of HealthFAV 1FWA 1UNF 1

Maryland Hospital AssociationFAV 1

Maryland Insurance AdministrationINFO 1

Maryland Legislative CoalitionFAV 1

Maryland Rural Health AssociationFAV 1

MedStar HealthFAV 1

Mental Health Association of MarylandFAV 1

Meritus HealthFAV 1

MGA Delegate Pena-MelnykFAV 1

MHCCFWA 1

Montgomery CountyFAV 1

Montgomery County Women's Democratic ClubFAV 1

N/AFAV 1

NCADD-MarylandFAV 1

Nurse Practitioner Association of MarylandFAV 1

Office of the Attorney GeneralFAV 1

Office of the Baltimore County ExecutiveFAV 1

Prince George's County ExecutiveFAV 1

Public Justice CenterFAV 1

Public Policy PartnersFAV 1

Rural Maryland CouncilFAV 1

Sheppard PrattFAV 1

The Arc of MarylandFAV 1

Registered lobbyists who testified

FAVNicklas, AndrewAdventist HealthCare, Inc.Registered for: Maryland Hospital Association; Adventist HealthCare, Inc.

FAVHale, LauraAmerican Heart AssociationRegistered for: American Heart Association

FAVBreidenstine, AdrienneBehavioral Health System BaltimoreRegistered for: Behavioral Health System Baltimore

FAVCyphers, MoiraCompass Government RelationsRegistered for: American Clean Power; American Clean Power Association (ACP)

FAVArneson, EmilyKennedy Krieger InstituteRegistered for: Kennedy Krieger Institute

FAVTownsend, Pegeen A.MedStar HealthRegistered for: MedStar Health

FAVConner, CharlesOffice of the Baltimore County ExecutiveRegistered for: MedStar Health

FAVGrossi, JeffreySheppard PrattRegistered for: Sheppard Pratt Health Systems

FAVBrocato, BarbaraRegistered for: Acorn Health; American Physical Therapy Association Maryland - APTA MD; Arthritis & Rheumatism Associates, P.C.; Associates in Radiation Medicine; League for People with Disabilities, The; Maryland Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics…

FAVElliott, RobynRegistered for: American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists; Amica Center for Immigrant Rights; CareForth; Chase Brexton Health System; Coordinating Center, The; Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition…

FAVGreenfield, AaronRegistered for: BTS Bioenergy; Baltimore Area Council Boy Scouts of America, Inc.; Embassy of Japan; Ernst & Young, LLP; FEi Systems; Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake…

FAVKauffman, DannaRegistered for: Amazon.com Services, LLC; American Association of Dental Boards c/o Commission on Dental Competency Assessments; Baltimore Gas and Electric Company; Behavioral Health System Baltimore; City of Rockville; Community Behavioral Health Association of Maryland…

FAVKlapper, StephanieRegistered for: Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative, Inc.

FAVMiicke , SarahRegistered for: Baltimore Jewish Council

FAVSteinberg, DeborahRegistered for: Legal Action Center

FWARivkin, DeborahCareFirst BlueCross BlueShieldRegistered for: CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield

FWACelentano, MatthewFunk & Bolton, P.A.Registered for: 38 Degrees North; Advanced Energy United; Alliance of Maryland Dental Plans; Allstate Insurance Company; America's Health Insurance Plans; American Council of Life Insurers…

FWATaylor, AllisonKaiser PermanenteRegistered for: Kaiser Permanente

INFOPaddy, MichaelMaryland Insurance AdministrationRegistered for: American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network; Campaign to Protect Patient Health d/b/a Value of Care Coalition; Chase Brexton Health System; Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition; Gaudenzia, Inc.; Gilead Sciences, Inc.…

INFOBriemann, JenniferRegistered for: Maryland Managed Care Organization Association

Journey

Jan 13First reading in the HouseAssigned to Health and Government Operations
Jan 27Health and Government Operations hearingWed, Jan 27, 1:30 PM
Mar 10Committee report: Favorable with Amendments
Mar 3Second reading (House): Passed with Amendments
Mar 4Third reading (House): Passed
Feb 25First reading in the SenateAssigned to Finance
Apr 1Committee report (Senate): Favorable with Amendments
Mar 11Second reading (Senate): Passed with Amendments
Mar 12Third reading (Senate): Passed with Amendments
Mar 12Concurred
Mar 12Enacted as Chapter 70Signing date is not in the MGA feed

Documents

Same bill, other years

2025 HB 869Enacted
2025 SB 372Enacted
2023 SB 534Enacted

Matched by title. Attempt 4 of this idea.