Not yet a year old and rolling up successes! Thirty-nine women's organizations representing over 75,000 members joined our Coalition this year. Together we made a difference with the General Assembly in Annapolis. Our voices carried the message that health care for all is a priority for the women of Maryland.

What did we accomplish together? The Healthy Maryland Initiative was first introduced in 2006, but it passed neither the House of Delegates nor Senate. But, in 2007, SUCCESS! Thanks to the Coalition's hard work, the House passed the bill on a vote of 102 to 37! Your response to our Action Alerts made a real difference. HB 754, which Delegate Peter Hammen, District 46, shepherded through the House was designed to include expansion of Medicaid to an additional 100,000 uninsured residents in part by increasing the tax on a pack of cigarettes to $1. Our thanks go to all of our legislators who supported the bill and particular thanks to Delegate Hammen for his tremendous leadership both in the House and Senate. Please take the time to thank him personally at peter.hammen@house.state.md.us. And, let your own Delegate know, if appropriate, that you appreciate their support as well.

Unfortunately, the Senate Finance Committee did not follow the lead of the House. Despite our best efforts, the bill did not make it out of Committee and Delegate Hammen's efforts to bring it to a vote on the floor were also unsuccessful. The chief impediment was the concern of some in the Senate about Maryland's structural deficit.

Our efforts in our first year have strengthened and emboldened all of us and 2008 will see us back walking the halls of the State House and knocking on the doors of our Senators and Delegates. We look forward to your joining us in this effort.

Before then we will be calling the leaders of each of our member organizations to gather their ideas on how we can all work together better in order to bring comprehensive health care reform to our State. Next month, the Coalition's Steering Committee will meet to map out our priorities and strategies for the General Assembly in 2008. We will keep you informed of our plans. But, we also hope that you will give us your ideas. You can contact Anne Kasper, Chair at askasper@comcast.net or Leni Preston, 1st Vice Chair at lenipreston@verizon.net.

Through the rest of the year we will also continue to recruit new members to make our voice even louder and more powerful in Annapolis. Please spread the word about the Coalition and encourage your friends, family and colleagues to join us in this important effort. We look forward to working with you to make our goal of health care reform for all a reality.