ADVISORY: LT. GOVERNOR BROWN TO ANNOUNCE MARYLAND’S FIRST HEALTH ENTERPRISE ZONES

ADVISORY: LT. GOVERNOR BROWN TO ANNOUNCE MARYLAND’S FIRST HEALTH ENTERPRISE ZONES

FOR PLANNING PURPOSES

CONTACT:
Lauren Gibbs - Lt. Governor’s Office
Office: 410-260-3847 <tel:410-260-3847>
Cell: 410-570-3115 <tel:410-570-3115>

Mark Luckner - CHRC
Office: 410-260-7046

LT. GOVERNOR BROWN TO ANNOUNCE

MARYLAND’S FIRST HEALTH ENTERPRISE

ZONES

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (January 23, 2013) – TOMORROW, Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown will be joined by Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) Secretary Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, officials from the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission (CHRC), health care advocates, and other state and local officials for a press conference announcing the designation of the State’s first five Health Enterprise Zones.

Championed by the Lt. Governor and jointly administered by the Community Health Resources Commission and Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Health Enterprise Zone Initiative is a four-year pilot program with a budget of $4 million per year. The purposes of the HEZ Initiative are to: (1) Reduce health disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations and among geographic areas; (2) Improve health care access and health outcomes in underserved communities; and (3) Reduce health care costs and hospital admissions and re-admissions. For additional information about the HEZ Initiative, please visithttp://dhmh.maryland.gov/healthenterprisezones/SitePages/Updates.aspx <http://dhmh.maryland.gov/healthenterprisezones/SitePages/Updates.aspx> .

Lt. Governor Brown leads the O’Malley-Brown Administration’s efforts to reduce costs, expand access, and improve the quality of care for all Marylanders. Under the leadership of Governor O’Malley and Lt. Governor Brown, Maryland has implemented reforms that have expanded health coverage to more than 365,000 Marylanders, half of whom are children, established Maryland’s Health Benefit Exchange, and put the State in position to maximize the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Independent analysis by the Hilltop Institute at the University of Maryland Baltimore County has found that implementation of the ACA will benefit the state’s budget by $672 million through 2020, generate more than $3 billion in annual economic activity, cut the number of uninsured in half, and create more than 26,000 jobs.