The Senate Finance Committee on April 5 advanced several bills on a busy Saturday voting list, forwarding a departmental measure to establish a population health improvement fund and approving a temporary telehealth license for out‑of‑state counselors working with Maryland students, while holding for further review legislation addressing pharmacy benefit manager regulation and a collective‑bargaining change for the Baltimore City Sheriff'

House Bill 1104, approved as amended, would create a Population Health Improvement Fund to support statewide population health targets under the AHEAD model and allow the Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC) to assess a uniform, reasonable amount in hospital rates to be credited to the fund. Nathan (legislative staff) summarized the bill on the floor: "House Bill 1104 is a departmental bill that establishes the population health improvement fund to support, statewide population health targets under the AHEAD model." Senator Lamb offered amendments that require the department to post a draft report 30 days before finalizing it and to include in the final report "a summary of the extent to which public comments informed the work of the department and the commission." The amendments also separate the statute authorizing assessments through hospital rates into its own section with a shorter sunset.

Under the versions described in the committee, the House text as sent would sunset after five and a half years; the assessment authority described in Senator Lamb's amendments would sunset after two and a half years. The bill as amended also requires meetings among a group of senators, delegates, the Department of Health and HSCRC; the bill records termination dates for the separate provisions in section 5. The motion to approve House Bill 1104 as amended was moved by Senator Lamb and seconded by Senator Ellis; the committee recorded a favorable vote (Yeas: Vice Chair Hayes, Senator Kramer, Senator Ellis, Senator Jackson, Senator Washington, Senator Guile, Senator Lamb, Madam Chair; Nays: Senator Reedy, Senator Mount).

House Bill 1474, moved and seconded as amended, would authorize the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists to issue a temporary telehealth license to an individual licensed in another state so the provider can continue a therapeutic relationship with an out‑of‑state student attending an institution of higher education in Maryland. The committee's amendments limit the temporary license to students and preserve board authority to adopt additional qualifications and regulations. Committee discussion noted concerns in the original House language that recipients could not be disciplined under Maryland law; the amended approach preserves disciplinary authority. The temporary license is limited to situations where the counselor and student had a previously established therapeutic relationship that existed for six months. The committee approved the bill by a unanimous voice vote.

The committee held Senate Bill 752 for further consideration. The measure would expand the definition of plans subject to state PBM regulation to include many ERISA plans and would otherwise increase PBM disclosure and audit rules; sponsor amendments struck proposed changes to pharmacy choice and pharmacy reimbursement but retained provisions on PBM activities, disclosure of rebates and audit authority. The amendments also exempt union ERISA plans developed through collective bargaining from the bill's requirements. Committee members asked whether excluding union plans raises legal issues; the chair said she would consult with the attorney general and hold the bill for further review on Monday.

Other measures on the list:
- House Bill 1126: The committee approved a pilot program to allow data sharing between unemployment insurance and child‑support enforcement for people in arrearage; the motion was approved as favorable on the list.
- House Bill 1016 and Senate Bill 672 (identical): The committee extended the Baltimore Convention and Tourism Redevelopment and Operating Authority Task Force and asked it to identify funding sources and mechanisms for renovating and sustaining operations of the Baltimore Convention site; both bills received favorable reports. The committee noted a letter of support from the Baltimore City delegation.
- House Bill 431 (identical to Senate Bill 413): The committee approved an act making void contract terms that shorten the period to bring an action below the period required by state law, with specified exclusions; committee members said amendments conform the House bill to the Senate version.
- House Bill 1091: A proposal to alter collective bargaining rights for certain Baltimore City Sheriff's Office employees was held by request and is expected to be taken up in the next session or next year, the committee said.

Committee staff and members framed the list as largely noncontroversial but noted specific legal and policy questions to be resolved on PBM regulation and on excluding a single group from state regulation. Several bills carried letters of support from local delegations; no formal opposition was recorded in committee minutes for the items advanced. The meeting concluded after the committee completed voting list number 29.

Details of recorded motions, recorded votes and specific amendment language appear in the committee reprints and the transcript of the session.