Kerr campaigning to make health insurance, government more accessible [The Frederick News-Post, Md.] – InsuranceNewsNet

Sep. 6—Editor’s notice: The Frederick Information-Submit is profiling candidates in Frederick County’s state legislative races and for Maryland’ssixth Congressional District within the Nov. 8 basic election. For profiles of candidates for county workplaces and different election protection, go to fredericknewspost.com/news/continuing_coverage/election_coverage.

Del. Ken Kerr is operating for his second time period on the Maryland Home of Delegates to proceed pushing to make medical insurance extra accessible, educating extra inexpensive, and authorities companies extra comprehensible.

Kerr, beforehand a member of the Frederick County Board of Training, was elected to serve District 3B in 2018. He received his major race this 12 months with 5,628, greater than any of his six Democratic challengers.

He’s competing for one of many three open seats in legislative District 3 towards Democrats Kris Truthful and Karen Simpson and Republicans Kathy Diener and Justin Wages.

Throughout Kerr’s first time period within the State Home, he served on the Well being and Authorities Operations Committee. Among the many payments he sponsored over the previous 4 years, he talked about one which created a pilot program for medical insurance subsidies as laws he’s proud to have supported.

Marylanders ages 19 to 34 make up the most important portion of people that shouldn’t have medical insurance within the state, Kerr mentioned. The invoice he sponsored offers medical insurance subsidies to individuals of this age group who’re employed and make as much as $51,000.

In doing so, this system helps get extra younger individuals on medical insurance and contains them within the threat pool, which brings down everybody’s insurance coverage premiums, Kerr mentioned.

In this system’s first 12 months, 9,000 individuals participated, Kerr mentioned. That is this system’s second 12 months.

“One of many issues I look ahead to doing within the coming session is to take away what’s referred to as the ‘sundown provision,’ and make the legislation everlasting,” he mentioned. “It is confirmed itself to be efficient.”

If re-elected, Kerr additionally plans to place ahead a invoice that will create a instructor apprenticeship program in Maryland. He proposed laws in 2020 that will have required the governor to fund such a program in Frederick County, however the invoice didn’t transfer ahead.

A instructor apprenticeship program would give individuals finding out to change into educators the possibility to garner paid expertise in a classroom earlier than they graduate. Kerr hopes such a program would scale back turnover amongst academics and make buying a level extra inexpensive.

He hopes to work with Sen. Jim Rosapepe, a Democrat who represents Prince George’s County, to fund an apprentice program with accessible cash from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Kerr would even be fascinated with creating an analogous program for individuals finding out to enter the well being care subject.

“I do not assume that somebody who needs to enter public service, whether or not it would be well being care or educating,” he mentioned, “ought to get into debt to get the coaching that they want with the intention to do the job.”

Two payments he’s most happy with sponsoring are ones that developed from issues constituents delivered to him. Each took years of labor earlier than they handed.

One, Brynleigh’s Act, required educators to finish coaching on the best way to acknowledge seizures and reply to them.

The opposite modified the circumstances beneath which property held by a banking or monetary group could also be thought of deserted.

If re-elected, Kerr mentioned, he seems to be ahead to persevering with to work with individuals in Frederick to undertake laws that will assist them and their households.

“We’re solely in Annapolis for 90 days,” he mentioned. “The remainder of the 12 months, we’re simply serving to constituents — fixing their issues for them, getting them the help they want, serving to them navigate state forms. And that is most likely essentially the most rewarding a part of the job.”

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