Ensuring all Marylanders have access to the health care they need

As the leader of a faith-based organization, I believe one of state government’s high priorities should be to ensure All Marylanders have access to quality health care, regardless of their circumstances or financial standing. For this reason, our organization, the Baptist Ministers’ Night Conference of Baltimore and Vicinity, endorses the new health agenda advanced by the health care for All! Coalition and documented in a recent op-ed by Vincent DeMarco (“A three-pronged approach to widening health care access in Maryland,” April 21). We urge all of our fellow faith communities to also endorse this lifesaving proposal by going to healthcareforall.com/ resolution.

This agenda would lead to far more Marylanders having health insurance by instituting an automatic enrollment process for residents eligible for low-cost or free coverage. The plan would create new subsidies for people to enroll in insurance, including new support for small businesses, as well as faith based organizations, that struggle to afford insurance for their employees; and it would eliminate immigration status as a barrier to Marylanders enrolling in insurance. These are common sense proposals that will lead to tens of thousands of additional Marylanders finally gaining access to health care.

I am optimistic that the new health agenda advanced by the health care for All! Coalition and Mr. DeMarco will move us even closer to our goal: ensuring everyone in our great state has the quality health care they need.

— Sandra Conner

Rev. Dr. Conner is president of the Baptist Ministers’ Night Conference of Baltimore and Vicinity.