Governor Larry Hogan last month signed an executive order creating a Regulatory Reform Commission to "undertake a comprehensive review of Maryland's regulatory climate ..." We're working closely with the administration on two fronts. We are attempting to secure hospital representation, although the commission will only have 12 members to consider regulatory impact on a lot of areas besides health care - transportation, environment, business and banking, labor, agriculture and tourism among them. And we are working to make sure that the commission hears from hospitals at the public meetings it will hold in regions across the state, especially the regulatory red tape that challenges your ability to take care of people and to thrive not only as a health care provider but also as a critical economic engine.

How will we do that? Details are being worked out, but our plan is to reach out to you to identify someone in your organization who will be the lead for this effort, identifying and sharing with us the kinds of red tape that need attention. We'll plan a series of conference calls with these leads, gather the information, work the issues through MHA's three governing councils (in this case, the councils on legislation and regulation, quality, and finance working together) and keep in touch with the commission directly and via your hospital's attendance at the regional meetings.

No word yet on when the commission will begin meeting, but we're looking to get our coordination effort started sometime in September so we can be ready when the commission does hit full stride. And while federal regulations and Joint Commission issues clearly can't be the focus of a gubernatorial commission, there are plenty of state-level issues that affect how you take care of patients, how you serve your communities, and how you maintain a workforce that is among the largest in the state. We see this commission as an opportunity for us to work together with willing listeners to point out where red tape is getting in the way.