Maryland’s implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a profound impact on the health and well-being of every Marylander. If implemented well, we will have the good fortune of overseeing a transformation of our health care system, which will improve the lives of all Marylanders. Opportunity to effect change comes with the weighty responsibility of doing it well. Thus, immediately following the enactment of PPACA, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley created the Health Care Reform Coordinating Council (HCRCC) to ensure that Maryland implements federal health care reform as thoughtfully, collaboratively, and effectively as possible. Charged with the tasks of representing the major government branches and agencies that must execute reform and conducting a transparent and inclusive process to assure the meaningful input of all public and private stakeholders, the HCRCC aims to develop recommendations on the major aspects of reform implementation. Its objective is to chart a course for the state to realize the full potential of the transformative changes in our health care system either required or made possible by the new federal law.

Maryland Health Care Reform Coordinating Council. (2010). Comprehensive evaluation of the federal health care reform legislation and foundation for implementation in Maryland - An interim report.