Politics and policy on the ground
Maryland is fertile ground for such health care experiments. The ACA remains popular within the state. Polling commissioned by Mr. DeMarco’s group puts the law’s support at 62%.
In addition, about 52% of Marylanders favored a state-based individual mandate, to make up for the federal provision that was repealed.
Democrats control the general assembly, but Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, has not offered a specific position on the issue – rather, he alluded to health reform efforts in his State of the State address. “Let’s develop bipartisan solutions to stabilize [health insurance] rates,” he said.
Ed Haislmaier, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, expressed skepticism about whether this approach will make a difference. The people who are targeted, he argued, are younger, healthier, and generally lower income. They don’t have insurance because they don’t want it, he suggested.