The new law is inpart of response to the Trump administration's efforts to kill theAffordable Care Act, along with the end of the mandate requiringpeople to have insurance or else pay a tax penalty. (Photo:Bloomberg)

New legislation signed by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan is abipartisan effort to help the state's uninsureds find affordablehealth care coverage.

As reported by the Associated Press, the law could proveto be a model for other states. Said Stan Dorn, director of theNational Center for Coverage Innovation, “We haven't begun beatingthe drum, and we've already heard from Oregon, New Mexico andVirginia. I'm expecting we're going to hear from state capitals allaround the country, interested in following up with what's happenedhere.”

What's happened is this: by checking a box on their state incometax returns, uninsured taxpayers will have their tax returninformation checked by the state's health care exchange to see ifthey qualify for low-cost insurance coverage. Those who qualify forMedicaid will be enrolled automatically, while the exchange willreach out to people who qualify for private coverage.

Related: Who are America's uninsured?

Hogan worked with the Democrats who control the state's GeneralAssembly on the legislation, as well as on measures that raise thesmoking age from 18 to 21 and includes vaping in their descriptionof tobacco products. He told AP, “We are also proud to continueMaryland's record of leadership on health care by enactinglegislation to further improve access and lower costs.”

Dorn's estimated that “tens of thousands of Maryland residentswho do not have health insurance who are eligible for low-costinsurance but don't know it.” Sen. Brian Feldman, a Democrat, alsocharacterized the new law as part of a response to the Trumpadministration's efforts to kill the Affordable Care Act, alongwith the end of the mandate requiring people to have insurance orelse pay a tax penalty.

“We've been continuing to look for bipartisan ways to get moreMarylanders health insurance,” Feldman told AP. “We've made a lotof strides. About six or seven years ago, we had about 760,000people without health insurance. Now, we're down to 360,000, and inlight of what's happening at the federal level — the dismantling ofthe Affordable Care Act, the elimination of the mandate, we'restarting to see some backtracking on that. So, we came up with anidea here that's first in the nation that you can use the stateincome tax return to check a box, and it will immediately optin.”

Read more: 

• Decline in subsidized ACA enrollees driving upuninsured rate
• 10 states with the highest uninsuredrates
• Health plan 'down payments' and other attempts tokeep the individual mandate alive