Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. letter to Officers of Broadmead, April 16, 1992

TENTH LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT BALTIMORE COUNTY ROBERT L. EHRLICH, JR. Legislative address: Home Address: HOUSE OF DELEGATES Annapolis, Maryland 21401-1991 April 16, 1992 Dear Officers of Broadmead: Thank you for your letter concerning HB 1382, the so-called "Provider Tax" Proposal. As you may know by now, this legislation died in committee in the waning days of session. Accordingly, I was never given the opportunity to vote on this bill. It is probably safe to assume, however, that this legislation will be reintroduced in the next legislative session. You will probably not be surprised to learn that many people on both sides of this issue contacted my office. In effect, opponents of the bill argued that the proposed tax unfairly penalizes private pay patients which account for 35% of all nursing home residents. Conversely, proponents stressed the need to rejuvenate the state's ailing medical assistance system and restore as much of the $24 million in reductions which the nursing home industry has suffered over the past three years as possible. Needless to say, both sides make logical arguments, which may account for the considerable amount of indecision which took place over this bill during the last three months. In any event, I will be examining this issue over the 1992 interim in anticipation of HB 1382 reaching the Floor next year. As always, I encourage you to provide me with information you deem relevant in my deliberations. Sincerely, Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr, RLE, Jr./jc Enclosure/For Your Review