The Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative is a coalition of nonprofit and for-profit organizations that advocate for left-leaning health care policy in Maryland. The organization commonly goes by the name Health Care for All (HCA). ¹

Since its founding, HCA claims to advocate universal taxpayer-supported health care in Maryland and the United States. It has also claimed credit for bills passed in the Maryland state legislature mandating increased access to health insurance, increased medical regulation, and enacting higher taxes on alcohol and tobacco products. ²

Activities

Healthcare for All (HCA) and its sister organization, the Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative Education Fund, were founded in 1999 by Vincent DeMarco and Peter Beilenson to advocate for universal taxpayer supported health coverage in Maryland. According to their research, 15 percent of Maryland’s population was uninsured at the time. ^{3 4}

By 2000, both the Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative Education Fund and Health Care for All had registered as nonprofits with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). That year, the organization had gathered 500 members. By 2002, membership surpassed 2,000. ^{5 6 7}

In 2005, HCA claimed credit for helping pass two bills in the Maryland legislature. HB 627 established the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission to increase health care access for low-income individuals, and HB 1143 created the Maryland Pharmacy Discount program. ⁸

In 2006, HCA claimed credit for bills passed at the state level to increase tobacco taxes to fund Medicaid expansion, and for passing the Fair Share Health Care Fund Act which requires large companies that do not pay for employee health care to contribute to a separate state-managed health care fund. ⁹

In 2008, HCA unveiled its Health Care for All! plan which proposed to expand Medicaid coverage to individuals making less than $30,000 per year and families of at least four making $35,000 per year, increase alcohol and tobacco taxes, and increase the payroll tax by two percent. The plan was expected to cost $15.5 billion between 2010 and 2014. ¹⁰

In 2011, HCA helped pass SB 994 to increase taxes on alcohol ¹¹ and SB 182 to implement the Affordable Care Act‘s (ACA) marketplace in Maryland. ¹²

In 2015, HCA launched forums across the state of Maryland to educate voters on the value of the ACA and Medicaid and organize what it claimed were legislative threats to these programs. ¹³

In 2019, HCA helped lobby for the establishment of a Prescription Drug Affordability Board to regulate drug prices in the state. ¹⁴

In 2021, HCA advocated for the establishment of the Health Equity Resource Communities Initiative which earmarked $59 million to reduce racial disparities in health care outcomes in the state. ¹⁵

In 2024, HCA and MCHIEF lobbied for Maryland legislators to support health care regulations in the Inflation Reduction Act. ¹⁶

Members

Health Care for All’s membership consists of left-of-center advocacy groups, religious organizations, and unions. Several of these groups include Jews United for Justice, the Baltimore Jewish Council, the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of Maryland, Climate-XChange, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Maryland Rise, AFSCME Council 3, 1199 SEIU, AHEC West, Maryland Latinos Unidos, Kaiser Permanente, the Maryland Legislative Coalition, the Women’s Law Center of Maryland, NAACP Maryland, the NAACP Maryland State Conference, the Public Justice Center, AIDS Action Baltimore Inc., the Maryland Legislative Agenda for Women, and the Community Development Network of Maryland. ¹⁷

Leadership

Vincent DeMarco is the co-founder of Health Care for All and has served as the organization’s president since its founding. He is also the president of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence and played a role in the passage of the Firearm Safety Act of 2013 which banned certain rifles and required the licensing of handgun purchasers in the state. DeMarco has been involved in political activism since the 1980s when he worked for an organization promoting a balanced budget amendment in the Maryland Constitution and then joined Marylanders against Hand Gun Abuse. Later, he joined the Maryland Children’s Initiative to advocate higher taxes on tobacco products. ^{18 19} In 2022, DeMarco received a salary of $151,572 from HCA. ²⁰

Peter Beilenson co-founded HCA but is no longer affiliated with the organization. Since 1995, he has worked as an associate faculty member at Johns Hopkins University. From 2012 to 2017, he also served as the chief executive officer of the Evergreen Health Co-op. From 2007 to 2012, Beilenson was a health officer at the Howard County Health Department. In 2006, Beilenson ran for U.S. Congress and lost in the Democratic primary. ^{21 22 23}

Funding

In 2008, Health Care for All received a $750,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. ²⁴

Shortly after HCA’s launch, the organization received a $150,000 donation from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and a $50,000 donation from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. ²⁵

HCA’s sister-group, the Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative Education Fund, has received financial support from many left-leaning foundations including Arnold Ventures, the Baltimore Community Foundation, the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, the Community Voices Project, the Consumer Health Foundation, the Hopewell Fund, the Horizon Foundation, the Public Welfare Foundation, and the Zanvyl and Isabelle Kreiger Fund. ²⁶

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