Pugh's Legislative Record Shows She Sponsored Bills That Benefited UMMS

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh's legislative record indicates she sponsored and co-sponsored bills that benefited the University of Maryland Medical System.

A former state senator, Pugh introduced and co-sponsored more than a hundred pieces of legislation each year from 2007 to 2016, many benefiting hospitals in general, including UMMS.

"She definitely should have recused herself and obviously disclosed that she was serving on the board from the very start," said Joanne Antoine, of Common Cause Maryland.

Pugh pushed bills expanding telemedicine in the state. Her "No Fault Birth Injury Fund" bill stymies the impact of malpractice lawsuits. It provided payments to families as a way to avoid multimillion-dollar court battles.

"There's no way to know what her interests were when she was introducing the bills or sponsoring them, but it is a clear conflict," Antoine said.

Pugh struck a multi-year deal with the medical system in 2011 to buy her Healthy Holly books. Pugh had been a UMMS board member since 2001. She resigned last month and returned $100,000 of the payments she received from the medical system regarding her book deal.

In the 2007 session, she co-sponsored a bill to extend term limits and provide base compensation for board members of a nonprofit health service plan. Health care giants Carefirst and Blue Cross provided these services.

"During her term as senator, while serving on the Finance Committee, any bill that came across her desk that had to do with a hospital, insurance companies, is a clear conflict and she should have recused herself," Antoine said.