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Maryland patients, particularly those living with chronic illnesses, rely on consistent access to treatments to manage symptoms and live healthy lives. Daily management of a chronic or complex condition can already place a significant burden on patients and their families, yet some Maryland health insurance companies are making chronic illness management harder by adopting policies that block access to timely care.
We are pleased that Maryland lawmakers took positive steps this session to prioritize critical reforms (Senate Bill 791 and House Bill 932) that add greater transparency and accountability to the processes used by insurance carriers and their pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) partners. In addition, we applaud the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) for issuing enforcement guidance to ensure that insurers and PBMs can no longer deny patients from being able to continue effective medication.
While these actions are paramount for ensuring that patients can receive timely medical care and for reducing the unfair administrative burdens that these insurance policies place on physicians, the fight is not over.