Gov. Hogan Says Health Care Proposal Has Long Way To Go

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new health care plan proposed by Maryland's House Republicans still has a long way to go, and it's too soon to say how the legislation will affect the state's residents, Gov. Larry Hogan said Wednesday. Sen. Ben Cardin, meanwhile, is calling the bill a "misguided" attempt to shift costs to middle-class Americans who rely on the Affordable Care Act.

Hogan, a Republican, said states that expanded Medicaid need to be considered as lawmakers work on the legislation, and the needs of individual states need to be weighed. The governor also underscored that there are ongoing discussions between governors and federal officials.

"We're going to have to work together in a bipartisan way with governments all around the country and both houses of the federal (government) with input from the governors in the states and come up with a compromise solution that gets rid of some of the problems and fixes the issues while still protecting as many people as we can," Hogan said.

In a statement released Tuesday, Cardin said the bill would leave 289,000 residents who gained coverage through Medicaid expansion without coverage. The Maryland Democrat says under the bill, Maryland's 1.25 million Medicaid enrollees won't have access to mental health and substance abuse treatments, pediatric dental services or maternity coverage.

He says a repeal of the Affordable Care Act would mean higher costs and fewer benefits for all, not just the 400,000 people in Maryland who gained coverage.

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