Lawmakers Want To Fix Long Wait Times At MD Emergency Rooms

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A group of lawmakers wants to create a task force to determine why wait times at Maryland emergency rooms are so long and what could be done to fix the problem, according to a bill recently introduced in the Maryland General Assembly.

The task force would study best practices for emergency department staffing, triage and bed availability in states with a similar population to Maryland and rank within the top 50 percent of states with the shortest emergency room wait times.

Frederick County Sen. Karen Lewis Young introduced the bill.

"(I want to) see if we can do a regression analysis that determines what the drivers are of that wait time. Is it a triage issue? Is it a staff shortage issue? Is it that people don't have health insurance and they are coming to the emergency room?" Lewis Young told WBAL.

Maryland emergency rooms have the longest average wait time in the country at 228 minutes, the Baltimore Banner reported in December, citing data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Anne Palmisano of the advocacy group Marylanders for Patient Rights told the Banner that long wait times are a statewide issue and it's time to "stop shrugging our shoulders."

If approved, the task force would be comprised of a member of the Senate and a member of the House of Delegates, the Maryland Secretary of Health, one representative from the Maryland Hospital Association, two representatives of patient advocacy groups and one employee at a Maryland emergency room.

The group would start work on June 1 and continue through June 2024.

The task force would also be required to present its finding to Gov. Wes Moore by Jan. 1.