Gov. Martin O’Malley says healthcare reform will save MD $1 billion

Gov. Martin O’Malley says healthcare reform will save MD $1 billion
Al Ritter

Governor O’Malley claims the healthcare reform will save Maryland $1 billion over a 10 year period because the federal government will shoulder some of the costs that Maryland has paid in the past. O’Malley has made his claim of cost savings before he has even appointed a panel to study and make suggestions on implementation of the new healthcare mandates.

The Sunday partisan healthcare reform will be forced through by any means necessary, but even states with Democratic Governors have claimed state sovereignty over the federal mandates on the grounds that healthcare is NOT mentioned in the Constitution thereby granting the right for states to make individual decisions on the program’s acceptance or denial.

Governor O’Malley’s claims fly in the face of 35+ states poised to force lawsuits against the Federal Government’s partisan legislation on healthcare. Many states including Virginia under Governor Bob McDonnell have claimed that the new mandate threatens the fiscal future of their states. Virginia expects to lose $1 billion over 12 years according to McDonnell.

Governor O’Malley hasn’t been able to balance his budget without robbing from other areas of the budget of what he considers to be excess funds, and now makes this baseless claim. Every state has mandates of their own for health care, and Maryland is one of the highest with 66. Virginia on the other hand only has 60 (still high), and yet O’Malley makes claims of saving money while Virginia will see a net loss. Someone is not being truthful, and with 35+ states claiming the same future losses as Virginia, I would tend to side with McDonnell and not with O’Malley.

O’Malley has a past history of poor money management, both as a Mayor and now as the Governor, his past is hardly a glowing endorsement of the future of the State of Maryland, or his personal judgment.