# Maryland HB 1563: Emergency Room Services and Post-Acute Care - Coverage and Facility Studies

Maryland HB 1563, Emergency Room Services and Post-Acute Care - Coverage and Facility Studies, is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Harry Bhandari (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-28 (Approved by the Governor - Chapter 165); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB1563-2026RS
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Maryland HB 1563
- State: Maryland
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Emergency Room Services and Post-Acute Care - Coverage and Facility Studies
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-02-13
- Last action: 2026-04-28, Approved by the Governor - Chapter 165
- Sponsor: Harry Bhandari (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 16
- Subjects: Public Health, Health Care Facilities and Regulation, Health - Insurance, Health Maintenance Organizations, Data -see also- Census; Demographics, Electronic Documents, Emergency Medical Services -see also- Ambul; RescSqd, Evaluations and Reviews, Health -see also- COVID19; EnvHlth; MedCon; etc., Health Care Commission, Health Care Facilities -see also- Clinics; Hospices; etc, Health Insurance -see also- ACA; HMOs; MCOs, Health Maintenance Organizations -see also- Manage Care Orgs, Health Services Cost Review Commission, Hospitals -see also- Clinics; State Hospitals, Insurance Administration, Medical Conditions -see also- AIDS; COVID-19; rabies, Nonprofit Organizations, Nursing Homes -see also- AsstLiving; ContinCare; LTCare, Prices -see also- Consumer Price Index, Records -see also- Land Records; Vital Records, Rehabilitation, Reports, Studies -see also- Commitees & Commissions; Reports
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 2 (178 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- More oversight of insurers' emergency care denials: benefit, low. Beginning June 1, 2026, Maryland's Insurance Commissioner can examine insurers with patterns of unfavorable claim, approval, or grievance decisions. This authority covers services in an emergency department and services related to that care. Insurers must provide related records, including those he…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Harry Bhandari (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Tiffany T. Alston (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Heather Bagnall (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Bonnie Cullison (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Pam Lanman Guzzone (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Terri L. Hill (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Thomas S. Hutchinson (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Aaron M. Kaufman (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Nicholaus R. Kipke (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Lesley J. Lopez (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Ashanti Martinez (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Samuel I. Rosenberg (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Kim Ross (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Steve Johnson (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Deni Taveras (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Jennifer White Holland (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Teresa Woorman (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-13 | Senate | Third Reading Passed | pass | 45 | 0 | 2 |
| 2026-03-18 | House | Third Reading Passed | pass | 133 | 0 | 3 |

## Actions (14)

- 2026-04-28: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 165
- 2026-04-13: Returned Passed (House)
- 2026-04-13: Third Reading Passed (45-0) (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: Second Reading Passed (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: Favorable Adopted (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: Favorable Report by Finance (Senate)
- 2026-03-20: Hearing 3/25 at 1:00 p.m. (Senate)
- 2026-03-19: Referred Finance (Senate)
- 2026-03-18: Third Reading Passed (133-0) (House)
- 2026-03-17: Second Reading Passed with Amendments (House)
- 2026-03-17: Favorable with Amendments {833120/1 Adopted (House)
- 2026-03-16: Favorable with Amendments Report by Health (House)
- 2026-02-13: Hearing 3/04 at 1:00 p.m. (House)
- 2026-02-13: First Reading Health (House)

## Bill text

- Enacted, 2026-04-28: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_165_hb1563t.pdf)
- Third Reading, 2026-03-17: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb1563t.pdf)
- First Reading, 2026-02-13: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb1563f.pdf)

## Related bills

- SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - Authorization (became law)
- SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishment (became law)
- SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law)
- SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-1 Specialists Act) (became law)
- SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits (became law)
- HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law)

## Sources
- [Enacted (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_165_hb1563t.pdf)
- [Third Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb1563t.pdf)
- [First Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb1563f.pdf)

## Related
- [SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - A…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0496-2026RS)
- [SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishm…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0366-2026RS)
- [SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0244-2026RS)
- [SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0148-2026RS)
- [SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0016-2026RS)
- [HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0529-2026RS)
- [Maryland bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland/bills)
- [Maryland state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB1563-2026RS (as of 2026-10-11).