Del. Craig A. Zucker, chairman of the House Health and Human Resources Subcommittee, said it best — "the overall goal of this committee is to make sure people get access to health care." And the House Appropriations Committee did just that ("House panel finds money for education, state employee pay raise," March 13).
The restoration of funding for Medicaid providers and pregnancy and family planning coverage for low-income women ensures that the most vulnerable of Maryland's residents get the care they need. Equally important to our members, the committee rejected a recommendation from the Department of Legislative Services to cut $4 million from our successful Connector Entity Program. Across the state, thousands of Marylanders now have health care coverage thanks to the in-person assistance they received from trained and committed in-person assisters.
We applaud the wisdom of the committee and hope to see equally wise decisions as the 2016 budget moves forward.
Leni Preston, Bethesda
The writer is chair of the Maryland Women's Coalition for Health Care Reform.