---
type: "Bill"
title: "Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - Authorization"
description: "Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - Authorization"
jurisdiction: "us/states/md"
legislature: "Maryland General Assembly"
session: "2026"
identifier: "SB 496"
citation: "Maryland SB 496 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Hershey", "Lam"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 17
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2026-02-02"
last_action: "2026-05-31"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/87fc64ea-33ea-4105-b1e5-fcf3ed8f8d4a"
source_url: "http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/sb0496?ys=2026RS"
source_hash: "0d0f8a4f52b06369ceb3a6a9d7ea8749396fc240618fe53e7fa46bc95b3b7888"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-md"]
---

# Maryland SB 496 (2026) — Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - Authorization

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Chapter - Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - Authorization** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_866_sb0496e.pdf)
2. **Enrolled - Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - Authorization** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0496e.pdf)
3. **First - Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0496f.pdf)
4. **Third - Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0496t.pdf)

## Votes

- Bill is on Third Reading for Final Passage. — **42–0** (pass) · upper
- On Third Reading (Amend) — **109–23** (pass) · lower
- On Third Reading — **43–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Hershey — primary (person)
- Lam — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2026-02-02** First Reading Finance `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-03** Hearing 2/17 at 1:00 p.m.
- **2026-03-23** Favorable Report by Finance `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-03-23** Favorable Adopted `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-03-23** Floor Amendment {
- **2026-03-23** Second Reading Passed with Amendments
- **2026-03-23** Third Reading Passed `passage`
- **2026-03-24** Referred Health `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-24** Hearing 3/31 at 1:00 p.m.
- **2026-04-03** Favorable with Amendments Report by Health `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-04-03** Favorable with Amendments { `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-04-03** Second Reading Passed with Amendments
- **2026-04-08** Third Reading Passed `passage`
- **2026-04-09** Senate Concurs House Amendments
- **2026-04-09** Third Reading Passed `passage`
- **2026-04-09** Passed Enrolled
- **2026-05-31** Enacted under Article II, Section 17(c) of the Maryland Constitution - Chapter 866 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/87fc64ea-33ea-4105-b1e5-fcf3ed8f8d4a`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Maryland legislature records).