HEALTH CARE

Local Health Departments. Local health departments in each Maryland county and Baltimore City are overseen by the Community and Public Health Administration of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The local health department administers and enforces State, county and municipal health laws and regulations. Public health programs tailored to community needs provide preventive care; immunizations; health education; drug and alcohol abuse counseling; and rabies and communicable disease prevention.

Renowned Health-Care Institutions. In Baltimore are The Johns Hopkins Hospital and The Johns Hopkins University Medical School; the University of Maryland Schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy; and the private University of Maryland Medical System, which serves as the primary teaching hospital for the University of Maryland School of Medicine and includes the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, a regional facility for trauma management. In Bethesda is the National Institutes of Health.

Medicaid. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is responsible for the Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid) providing health care for eligible low-income Maryland residents. Funded by federal and State government, Medicaid provides hospital inpatient and outpatient services; physician and nurse-midwife services; laboratory and X-ray services; nursing facility services; home health care for adults; family planning; early and periodic screening, diagnosis and treatment for children; transportation; federally qualified health center and rural health clinic services; and some nurse practitioner services. Maryland also provides certain options: adult dental care; vision, podiatry and clinic care; pharmacy, medical supplies and equipment; health maintenance organization membership; medical day care; personal care; services for persons age 65 and over in institutions for mental diseases; inpatient psychiatric services for persons under age 21; intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded; and other treatments. During FY 1993, Medicaid covered health care for a monthly average of 433,805 people (8.8% of State's population) with expenditures of $1.9 billion (53% State-funded).

Pharmacy Assistance. For low-income individuals who are not eligible for Medicaid, the Pharmacy Assistance Program helps pay for prescriptions, insulin, and certain medical supplies. The Program is State-funded. During Fiscal Year 1993, Pharmacy Assistance each month helped an average 28,600 persons at a cost of $13.7 million.

Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene
Maryland at a Glance

Maryland Manual On-Line