As U.S. Reckons With Racism, Peña-Melnyk Offers Bills to Reduce Health Care Gaps
Following Maryland’s recent reckoning with socio-economic and criminal justice inequities in its communities of color, House Health and Government Operations Committee Vice-Chair Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Prince George’s) has presented three bills that seek to identify and eliminate health disparities, too.
It’s really clear: the data consistently shows ongoing and, in some cases, growing health disparities in Maryland, including the impact of COVID-19, she told members of that committee at a hearing Tuesday.
The bills, sponsored by Peña-Melnyk and Del. Robbyn R. Lewis (D-Baltimore City), aim to increase health in Black and Brown communities, which trails that of residents in white communities.
House Bill 28 would require health professionals to undergo implicit bias training prior to renewing their license or certificate to practice.