MD Affordable Health Care Campaign Kicks Off

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

The Maryland Citizens Health Initiative kicked off its campaign for state legislation FOR affordable health care last Wednesday. At their Annapolis press conference, the Citizens Health Initiative was joined by allies in the labor, religious and activist communities as well as corporate supporters such as Giant supermarkets and the Greater Washington Board of Trade. Also lending their support to the bill were 2006 gubernatorial hopefuls Doug Duncan, Montgomery County Executive, and Baltimore City Mayor Martin O’Malley. The legislation, which would require large employers to provide affordable health care for their employees or pay into a state insurance fund. affects businesses with more than 10,000 employees in the state who don’t contribute at least 8 percent of their payroll towards employee health care benefits. Among those companies affected is Wal-Mart, which is currently building a major distribution center on the Eastern Shore. Watch UNION CITY for alerts when the bill is scheduled for a hearing.