By Steve Crane | Editor-in-chief
“[If people can't afford coverage] what happens then? Typically, and we’ve seen this throughout history, is when people do not have healthcare, they don’t have preventative services. They wait until something gets really serious, and they go to the most expensive healthcare on the planet, which is the emergency room. By law, our state systems pay for what’s called ‘uncompensated care.’ So we want to see what we can do to mitigate the fact that we have people losing coverage.” - Del. Bonnie Cullison (D-Montgomery), on the fight to keep healthcare affordable at a time of federal cutbacks to Medicaid and other changes.
We have more coverage on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, with reporters Ashley Murray, Shalina Chatlani, Shauneen Miranda and Ariana Figueroa bringing stories from Ground Zero, from the Pentagon and from a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. And WTOP’s John Domen reminds us that the attacks continue to claim victims to this day, from the people who responded to the attacks.
Closer to home, Danielle J. Brown reports on the Maryland Health Insurance Coverage Protection Commission, which was set up to monitor — and head off, where possible — impacts on the availability of healthcare in the state as a result of changes at the federal level. With the possibility that about 130,000 Marylanders could lose coverage in the next year, the commission has started looking for funds to help people continue their care.
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Vincent DeMarco, president of the Maryland Health Care for All Coalition, during an earlier meeting of the Maryland Health Insurance Coverage Protection Commission. (Photo by Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters)
By Danielle J. Brown
State officials are scrambling to find funding to cushion the blow on Marylanders' pocketbooks of skyrocketing healthcare costs and federal changes to the Medicaid program, in hopes that people can still afford coverage. The search comes as the state faces an anticipated budget shortfall of $2.8 billion or more in the coming fiscal year -- but the cost of inaction would be even greater down the road, advocates say.
“The biggest challenges that we are having in Maryland, around the changes … at the federal level, is how are we going to make sure our residents have the healthcare that they need – and that means being able to afford it,” Del. Bonnie Cullison (D-Montgomery), co-chair of the Maryland Health Insurance Coverage Protection Commission, said Friday. Her comments came during a meeting Friday of the commission, which is charged with monitoring the impact of federal policy changes on Maryland residents, and mitigating those effects where possible.
The loss last year of the federal Enhanced Premium Tax Credit meant higher premiums for some Marylanders, who opted for cheaper, less-comprehensive health care coverage for the 2026 plan year. Still to come are changes to Medicaid in H.R. 1, the budget reconciliation bill, which will impose new registration rules and increased work requirements, among other changes. The state health department estimates that 130,000 Marylanders could lose coverage as a result of the changes, and that some legally present immigrants will also lose access to Medicaid as soon as October.
New York Police Department officers walk down a street in downtown Manhattan as part of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 memorial on Sept. 11, 2026. (Photo by Shalina Chatlani/ Stateline)
By Ashley Murray, Shalina Chatlani, Shauneen Miranda and Ariana Figueroa
Powerful U.S. officials past and present faced families, survivors and first responders Friday at ceremonies to honor the 25th anniversary of the day 2,977 Americans died in terrorist attacks in Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania.
At the Pentagon, at the site of the World Trade Center and at a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, speakers at all three Sept. 11 milestone anniversary events recounted stories of courage and loss as people found themselves in an unimaginable circumstance. And some also flared with frustration at what they say is a lack of justice for those who planned the attacks.
Despite the lasting pain, speakers Friday noted that relatives of those killed in the attacks found ways to move forward and persevere. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine at the Pentagon said the milestone anniversary was not only about remembering those lost, but “it is also a story of great American courage, selfless service, and those who’ve made the choice to carry those memories forward.”
“The courage of those extraordinary Americans in Pennsylvania, in New York, and right here on these hallowed grounds, did not end when the smoke cleared and the fires went out, because survivors and families have carried it forward through service, through sacrifice, and through remembrance,” Caine told the crowd.
IN OTHER NEWS
9/11 still claiming victims: The 9/11 attacks killed thousands of people in a matter of hours. But 25 years later, illnesses tied to response efforts continue claiming lives. More than 400 FBI employees have been diagnosed, and dozens have died since 2001.
Clock management: Prince George’s County Council Chair Krystal Oriadha wants to start at least one council meeting a month after 5 p.m., after hearing from voters on a county listening tour that daytime meetings make it to hard for them to participate.
EPA RIFs reversed: The EPA violated its collective bargaining agreement and committed unfair labor practices when it implemented a reduction-in-force and reorganization last year, said an arbitrator, who ordered laid-off workers reinstated.
TODAY'S COMMENTARY
The goal of the Prescription Drug Affordability Board -- to bring down the costs of popular, pricey medications -- is admirable, writes Dominique Daniels, but she worries about unintended consequences, like drug availability, for patients in need of medication.
MATTERS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Acting on the Vax Act: Maryland health officials issued a first-ever state vaccine schedule Thursday ahead of the annual flu and respiratory illness season, under a policy created to buck anti-vaccine messaging from the Trump administration in recent years.
ICE sued for ‘warrantless arrests’: Immigrant and legal advocacy groups sued the Trump administration Thursday for violating the Fourth Amendment and other laws with what they called ICE agents’ "arrest first, ask questions later" policy of immigrant arrests.
PFAS and Perdue: For years, Perdue Agribusiness has been emmeshed in lawsuits over claims it polluted local groundwater with cancer-causing PFAS. So neighbors were skeptical when Perdue asked to increase the treated wastewater it pours in a local stream.
9/11 families keep memories alive: In the 25 years since the 9/11 attacks, family members of the 69 Marylanders who were killed that day said they're coping but the pain is still with them, but they worry that others are beginning to forget.
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
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