‘We talked about planning ahead’: Lawmakers prepare for new Medicaid eligibility requirements imposed by One Big Beautiful Bill
By Cat Murphy
Capital News Service
WASHINGTON — With new Medicaid eligibility requirements set to take effect at the beginning of next year, the Maryland congressional delegation says it is working with Baltimore leaders to protect the city’s most vulnerable populations.
“As I say at any event, we have the best federal delegation to the United States Congress,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told Capital News Service.
The Maryland delegation hosted its annual meeting with Scott on Capitol Hill Wednesday to discuss a range of issues affecting the city, including Baltimore’s housing, transportation and public safety needs.
But U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said the discussion also looked ahead to 2027, when what he called the “worst cuts” to Medicaid enacted under last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act are set to kick in.
“They didn’t want people to feel the harm of their actions before the elections,” Van Hollen told Capital News Service Wednesday. “It was a very cynical move.”
Nearly 30% of Baltimore City residents are covered by Medicaid, according to the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy — more than in any other Maryland jurisdiction. Scott and Van Hollen said the meeting addressed plans to educate eligible residents on how to maintain their healthcare coverage once the new requirements take effect.
The changes to Medicaid include new mandatory work reporting requirements and more frequent eligibility checks. The White House has argued the changes will prevent “waste, fraud, and abuse,” but the new requirements are expected to leave millions of eligible Medicaid enrollees uninsured.
“In other words, they put up a lot of bureaucracy in the way,” Van Hollen said. “So, we talked about planning ahead.”
