Re-elect Rick Weldon for Maryland Delegate

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Rick Weldon is all about results for Marylanders.

Click here to learn more about Rick's successful efforts on behalf of Marylanders even when it meant that Rick allowed another legislator to get credit for his bill.

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"Access to affordable health care is one of the most important initiatives facing my colleagues and I," says Weldon.

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Rick Weldon has served on the House of Delegates Health and Government Operations ["HGO"] Committee for the past four years.

The HGO Committee deals with all aspects of
Maryland's health care delivery system.

Rick Weldon worked in a bi-partisan manner to help pass the following bills:

Community Health Care Access and Safety Net Act of 2005 (HB 627):
- Uninsured individuals who do not receive prompt medical care often end up in the emergency rooms, which ultimately costs all of us.
- HB 627 provides health care coverage for the uninsured working poor who do not qualify for Medicaid.
- The package extends Medicaid coverage to 225,000 uninsured parents who earn less than $30,500 for a family of three. While the children are already covered, the parents were only eligible for Medicaid if they earned less than $7,000 for a family of three.
- The plan expands access to free or low-cost primary care for an additional 200,000 uninsured Marylanders who earn less than $47,750 for a family of three.
- Governor Ehrlich pledged half of the needed funding from existing health programs in the general fund. the remaining half comes from private industry sources, such as insurance company's surplus funds.
Expanded MEDBANK, which distributes millions of dollars worth of free pharmaceuticals and operates a clinic at the Community Action Agency in downtown Frederick. Two hundred clients are now receiving free medicines each month, as well as other health screening services.
Senior Prescription Drug Assistance Program . Low income seniors may use the subsidy provided by this program to pay for all or some of the deductibles, premiums or other co-payments of enrollees in Medicare Part D.
Medicare Part D Stopgap Program . This program in the Maryland Department of Aging will assist eligible beneficiaries in obtaining Medicare Part D prescription drug benefits.
Funded Level 1 & 2 Trauma Centers. By increasing the motor vehicle registration fee by $2.50 per year, we funded the full operation of the Level 1 and 2 Trauma centers, including the one located in Hagerstown.
Provided an incentive fund for Maryland hospitals to provide free emergency room care to uninsured residents. Hospitals can be reimbursed up to a percentage of the federal Medicare level for care provided to low income patients.
Carefirst Reform. Required Carefirst to re-focus on its original mission as a non-profit health insurer, while expanding their community outreach to uninsured people.
Nursing Shortages . $5.6 million to increase the number of bedside nurses in hospitals and attract and retain minorities to nursing and nurse faculty centers. The fund consists of money generated by an increase in hospital rates.
Long-Term Care Planning Act of 2006 requires a report to the General Assembly on the implementation of the Maryland Partnership for Long-Term Care Program and requires the Maryland Health Care Commission to conduct a needs assessment of the long-term care delivery system in the state.
Stem Cell Research has produced fetal neural stem cell derivatives that have been transplanted to replace damaged cells in experiments aimed at controlling the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease with some success.

Experiments injecting stem cells found in mouse blood vessel walls back into the blood vessels of muscles have been successful in replacing muscle fibers and returning movement to mice with muscle disorders.
Mesenchymal stem cells have proven effective in treating mice with genetic liver disease. Click here to read more on stem cell research and the research that Del. Weldon did that included visiting Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland.
Money Follows the Individual Act requires that Department Health and Mental Hygiene facilitate the transfer of nursing home patients to community-based care.

Paid for by authority of Amy M. Weldon, Treasurer