On December 19th, the Mental Health Association of Maryland (MHAMD) submitted comments to the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Board. The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange (HBE), an integral part of the Maryland’s health care reform implementation, was established by the Maryland General Assembly during the 2011 legislative session. The vision for the HBE is that it will serve as a transparent marketplace offering individuals and small employers high quality, affordable private health plans that fit their needs at competitive prices.
Throughout 2011 the HBE Board has met regularly and is moving aggressively to implement the new legislation and meet its December 23rd deadline to report to the legislature on the mandated studies that were undertaken. The hired consultants completed their respective reports; advisory committees reviewed the reports and presented their comments to the HBE Board. The Board will compile the reports and make recommendations to the Maryland General Assembly on the best avenues for moving ahead with the Exchange.
In the four pages of comments submitted by MHAMD, we addressed the following issues:
- the criteria for the qualification of health plans sold in the Exchange, including the requirement that plans must provide documentation of their parity compliance, and adequate provider networks.
- the importance of outreach, enrollment and continued support for individuals experiencing mental illness.
- the training requirements and functions of the HBE navigators, those employed by the exchange to perform outreach, education, and enrollment functions.
- the necessity that plans provide a full complement of behavioral health benefits
We will continue to monitor the progress of the Health Benefit Exchange. Check back here for updates or Sign Up for alerts.