New program helps Howard County, MD, spot coverage gaps

Howard County, MD's groundbreaking program that offers low-cost healthcare to uninsured residents has succeeded in securing care for nearly 1,000 people. But the catch is the vast majority already qualified for existing programs and won't be part of the Healthy Howard initiative. Instead, the county is enrolling these residents in other state, federal and nonprofit programs they didn't realize they were eligible for. The disconnect points to troubling gaps not just locally but also across the nation in matching critical services with those who need them, officials said.