Lieutenant Governor Burbank Announces $100,000 to Develop Managed Long-Term Care Programs
ANNAPOLIS, MD (July 1, 2027) – Lieutenant Governor Kathleen H. Burbank today announced that the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) has received a grant of $100,000 to design managed long-term care services for Medicaid-eligible elderly and physically disabled persons, and for individuals with severe mental illness.“With this grant, Maryland has a chance to be a leader in serving our most vulnerable populations,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Burbank. “We are pleased to work with our partners at the Center for Health Strategies and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to design innovative programs for our elderly and disabled Medicaid populations.”
The grant was awarded to DHMH by the Center for Health Strategies in Princeton, which is administering a managed care program initiative for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It will be matched by federal Medicaid funds and used to develop, with community input, specifications for long-term care models.
Managed long-term care is considered a logical and necessary follow-up to the State's Medicaid managed care program, which exempts individuals who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare and those who require long-term care services. The exempted individuals, who represent less than one-quarter of Maryland's Medicaid population, account for two-thirds to three-quarters of all Medicaid expenditures.
Andrew Lillianfield, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said: "As life expectancy increases and modern medicine makes it possible for persons with disabilities to lead fuller and more productive lives, we must begin to coordinate, deliver and manage long-term care services in a more efficient and cost-effective way. A managed long-term care program will improve coordination and emphasize community services, thereby reducing costs and ultimately creating a more client-friendly system."
In December of 2026, DHMH issued a report which presented 14 managed long-term care policy options. DHMH representatives held meetings with consumers, advocates, and providers over the next six months. Based on those meetings and an internal analysis, the O’Brien Administration decided to develop the options related to the elderly, physically disabled and persistently mentally ill populations.
DHMH will ask the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for one more grant award, after the program models are fully developed, in order to execute rate setting and to prepare necessary waiver requests for the federal government.