Maryland law creates state dementia program and orders a clinical toolkit for providers

A bill signed by Governor Wes Moore sets up a dedicated Dementia Services and Brain Health Program inside Maryland's health department and orders a statewide provider toolkit, with the law taking effect this month and the toolkit due by October 2027.

Maryland's Dementia Services and Brain Health Program and Provider Resource Toolkit Act, House Bill 446, took effect October 1, 2026, according to the Maryland General Assembly's official bill record. The law, signed by Governor Wes Moore on April 28, 2026 as Chapter 239 after the House passed it 136 to 0, replaces the state's single Director of Dementia Services and Brain Health with a full program inside the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) that is charged with leading the state's public health response to brain health and dementia. The program must also staff the Virginia I. Jones Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Council, the body that has coordinated Maryland's Alzheimer's disease and related dementias policy since 2013. The bill's own text, filed with the General Assembly, states the program's purpose in those terms.

The law's second piece gives the council a new, specific job: examining whether Maryland's health care providers are ready and able to care for people who have, or are at risk for, Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, and identifying ways the state can help providers close any gaps. That capacity review is paired with a deadline for MDH, working with the Maryland Department of Aging, the council, and other groups with dementia expertise, to build and maintain a provider resource toolkit by October 1, 2027. The bill's text specifies the toolkit must include risk factors and risk-reduction strategies, tools for early detection and validated cognitive assessments, guidance on person-centered care, care planning and referral resources, continuing education opportunities, and information on racial and ethnic disparities in diagnosis and access to care. MDH must then review and update the toolkit every year starting January 1, 2028.

Supporters who testified before the House Health Committee framed the bill as filling a coordination gap. The National Association of Social Workers' Maryland chapter told the committee in written testimony dated February 12, 2026 that the change would strengthen the state's approach to "care, support, and research" for people with dementia and their families. The bill drew no recorded opposition in the House, where it passed unanimously; a companion measure, Senate Bill 555, was enacted the same day as Chapter 240.

What the law does not do is create new clinical services, set staffing levels, or appropriate dedicated funding beyond administering the program; its substantive products, the capacity assessment and the toolkit, are still ahead, due in 2027, and their content and reach will depend on what MDH, the Department of Aging and the council produce by those statutory deadlines.