Governor Wes Moore says he\u2019s fighting to keep health care affordable. But as a federal shutdown drags on and tax credits under the Affordable Care Act hang in the balance, some of his political opponents say the problem isn\u2019t just about insurance \u2014 it\u2019s about Maryland\u2019s overall cost of living.<\/p>\n
While Moore blames Washington gridlock and President Donald Trump for threatening to raise health care costs, critics argue his own administration has made Maryland one of the most expensive states to live in. From higher vehicle fees to new taxes on daily expenses, they say Moore\u2019s fiscal decisions are driving residents \u2013 and their money \u2013 out of state.<\/p>\n
Health care has become a flashpoint in the ongoing federal government shutdown. Democrats warn that health insurance premiums could spike under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, if federal tax credits expire at the end of the year. Those credits act as federal discounts to lower monthly insurance costs.<\/p>\n
Moore\u2019s office blames the White House for the rising costs on everything in Maryland, from groceries to electric rates. \u201cNow, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are holding health care hostage to keep the government shut down,\u201d said David Turner, Senior Advisor and Communications for the Moore administration. \u201cInstead of continuing to raise prices on hardworking families, Trump should come to the negotiating table to prevent this spike on health care costs and re-open the government.”<\/p>\n
But Republicans, including state Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready of Carroll County, said Moore\u2019s own policies are making life more expensive at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we all would say we don\u2019t want costs to go up for people,\u201d Ready said. \u201cBut that\u2019s why we\u2019ve spent the last three years fighting against Governor Moore\u2019s dogged attempts to raise every tax and fee possible known to man in this state.\u201d<\/p>\n
To close a $3.3 billion budget deficit, Moore and Democratic lawmakers approved about $1.6 billion in new taxes and fees this year. Those include:<\/p>\n
Vehicle registration fees now at $120.50 for the average car.<\/p>\n
Emissions tests are $30, up from $14.<\/p>\n
A new $5 tire fee<\/p>\n
Fishing licenses doubling from $25.50 to $52<\/p>\n
Boating and title registration fees have nearly tripled from $24 to $70.<\/p>\n
Increased taxes on sports betting, cannabis, vending machines and a new IT tax.<\/p>\n
Income taxes also went up for Maryland residents making $500,000 or more.<\/p>\n
Moore\u2019s office estimates about 190,000 Marylanders could see their health insurance premiums increase an average of 95% next year \u2013 roughly $825 more a year, or $70 a month, if federal tax credits expire.<\/p>\n
Ready said this all comes back to the bigger picture of how much Marylanders already pay. \u201cI\u2019m very concerned about health care premiums going up,\u201d he said. \u201cBut as you mentioned, a $70 premium increase – there\u2019s been hundreds of dollars, for many people, in cost-of-living increases due directly to actions of Governor Wes Moore.\u201d<\/p>\n
U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, the lone Republican in Maryland\u2019s congressional delegation, agreed with Ready that the broader tax burden outweighs any health care savings. \u201cThose COVID-era Obamacare enhanced subsidies affect about 7% of Americans,\u201d Harris said. \u201cThe taxes and fees that the Democrats in Maryland imposed affect the vast majority of citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spotlight on Maryland requested comment from U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks, a Maryland Democrat, but has not received a response.<\/p>\n
Policy analyst Dr. Anirban Basu, CEO of the Sage Policy Group, said rising costs are pushing people out of Maryland. \u201cWe want to be a state in which people say, \u2018I want to live here, work here, play here, retire here,\u2019\u201d Basu said. \u201cBut I hear so many retirees say, \u2018No, I\u2019m going to Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale or Naples, Florida.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
A new report from the Maryland Comptroller\u2019s Office estimates more than 2 million people left the state between 2010 and 2023, citing the high cost of living and the housing market.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a problem across the state,\u201d Harris said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to get worse before it gets better because our budget situation is actually getting worse in the state of Maryland. We have to come with new ideas and those new ideas shouldn\u2019t include higher taxes and fees.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked whether state leaders are failing residents, Basu said: \u201cOh, they have been for years. I don\u2019t think residents necessarily realized it until recently that the state\u2019s economy just isn\u2019t producing enough opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the government shutdown drags on, Marylanders will soon find out whether those federal health care tax credits stay in place or if they\u2019ll be paying even more.<\/p>\n
Spotlight on Maryland is a collaboration between FOX45 News, WJLA in Washington, D.C., and The Baltimore Sun. Have a news tip? Contact Tessa Bentulan at tbentulan@sbgtv.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Governor Wes Moore says he\u2019s fighting to keep health care affordable. But as a federal shutdown drags on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250505,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[2139,5849,12586,9292,97,252,253,8640,1548,8630],"class_list":["post-250504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-affordable-care-act","tag-budget-deficit","tag-cost-of-living","tag-government-shutdown","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-maryland","tag-taxes","tag-wes-moore"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}