The Baltimore City Health Department is active in Annapolis testifying in support of bills that will advance public health in Baltimore City and across Maryland. Members of our team testified in favor of a House bill that will establish a Drug Cost Review Commission, which would be responsible for setting fair rates for high cost prescription drugs in Maryland and increasing transparency in drug pricing. We also voiced our support for a Senate bill that will require state and local correctional facilities to have written policies in place concerning medical care for pregnant inmates.

In recent weeks, our team testified in favor of bills to modify funding for local health services; to Increase the minimum age for purchasing tobacco and prohibit the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors; to establish a fund for local municipalities seeking to improve health outcomes for pregnant and postpartum women and children; and to develop more rigorous lead-level blood testing methods. We also voiced our opposition to bills that would undermine public health, including a bill that would impose civil penalties on victims of overdose revived with naloxone by first responders.

I am proud to serve the City of Baltimore under the leadership of Mayor Catherine Pugh, and I am proud of the work our team is doing to advocate for health. I am grateful that Mayor Pugh, in her State of the City address earlier this week, discussed her plans to expand and strengthen Safe Streets, and emphasized the importance of addressing the trauma experienced by children in our city. Mayor Pugh also highlighted our Vision for Baltimore program and commended other innovative Health Department initiatives. It is a privilege to work under a Mayor who understands the importance of investing in upstream initiatives when working to improve health in the City.

Last week, I spoke with The Baltimore Times about our work to address health disparities in Baltimore. Often, we think about health as health care, but what determines how long and how well we live is less about what happens in the doctor’s office and more about where we live, the air we breathe, and the availability of other resources in our communities.

I am proud to work towards a more equitable Baltimore every day with a team that is dedicated to this goal.

Leana Wen, M.D., M.Sc.

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