As someone with diabetes and peripheral neuropathy, Anya Akwi Florence says it often feels like her legs are burning. Some days, she can’t even get out of bed because of the fatigue that comes with her chronic condition. Florence knows she has to manage her sugar levels and go to regular health appointments, but she says she can’t because she’s uninsured.

“I go to the hospital here and the charges are very high for me,” says Florence, who lives in Prince George’s County. “I’m unable to take good care of myself.”

Born in Cameroon, Florence says she was forced to leave her home country last June. She says the ongoing conflict between the government and militant groups put her life in danger. Florence has been living with her younger brother but it’s been difficult because she’s undocumented, uninsured, and without a job.

“It has not been very good,” says Florence. “My health situation is very bad.”

But that situation could change under a health care bill, known as the Access to Care Act, which would allow all Maryland residents – regardless of their immigration status – to purchase health insurance by removing immigration status as a condition for eligibility. The bill would require the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange to seek a waiver from the federal government to create a program for qualified residents to buy and enroll in coverage.

The only problem, says advocates for the Access to Care Act, is that the bill has failed to make significant progress since being voted through the House at 100-38 about three weeks ago. Since then, it’s been stalled in the Senate Finance Committee. With the 2023 Maryland legislative session set to wrap up on Monday, April 10, immigrants and their advocates are making a final push to get the bill on the Senate floor for a vote.

“Right now, undocumented immigrants, immigrants with DACA, and other immigrants with other different statuses are barred from being able to buy into the marketplace,” says Ninfa Amador-Hernández, a research and policy analyst for the immigrant advocacy group CASA.

The bill was sponsored by Del. Bonnie Cullison, who represents Maryland’s 19th district in Montgomery County. Cullison told DCist/WAMU that Senator Melony Griffith – the committee chair and representative for Prince George’s County – voiced her concerns over the bill and is asking that it be held off for a year.

“We’ve been trying to make the point that waiting – it doesn’t serve any purpose,” says Cullison. “The sooner people can begin to buy insurance on our health benefit exchange, the better it will be not only for those individuals but for the state, economically. Because when you increase the insurance pool, you actually maintain rates in better ways. So this is a win-win situation.”

According to a 2021 report from the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, it’s estimated that there are more than 240,000 undocumented residents in the state – of which approximately 115,490 had no health insurance.  A Medicaid report for Fiscal Year 2021 found that it cost an estimated $118 million to provide undocumented immigrants in Maryland with emergency Medicaid services, with Maryland taking on $51 million of that cost.

CASA has promoted the bill by holding several demonstrations in Annapolis, with the hopes of pressuring Griffith and Senate President Bill Ferguson to move it down the pike. The group also asked for their support in a letter at the end of March that was signed by more than 100 advocacy groups, labor, and faith organizations.

Amador-Hernández says that Griffith and Ferguson’s backing of the bill could eventually lead to residents like Florence having access to preventative care like dental appointments and regular health check-ups.

“This is just care that we all need – but this population, because of their immigration status, is being denied,” says Amador-Hernández. “They shouldn’t have to have a tragic condition for them to be able to have care in the E.R. But unfortunately, because they can’t get these preventative services, that’s where they end up. And the state has to pay for it.”

On Friday, CASA held an additional demonstration asking for Griffith and Ferguson’s support in the remaining four days of the legislative session. According to a representative for the organization, it led to the arrest of seven individuals. Meanwhile, Florence says she hasn’t given up hope for a future with health coverage and is asking elected officials for their support.

“I would be grateful if I had this insurance,” says Florence. “That would be a very good thing for them to do for us.”

The offices of both Griffith and Ferguson did not immediately respond to a request to comment on where the bill stands.