Maryland Business

If you’ve followed Maryland health care politics in the last decade, Vinny DeMarco’s name should ring a bell.

He’s the guy who has fought unrelentingly for years to win health care coverage for more Marylanders, not to mention get publicity for his causes, and he’s made some impressive strides. Under DeMarco’s watch, his Health Care For All! Coalition has successfully lobbied to get coverage for 100,000 more Maryland citizens.

Now, DeMarco is the subject of a new book called The DeMarco Factor, written by Michael Pertschuk, former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (the agency that advocates for American consumers), and founder of the Advocacy Institute.

Universal health care has been DeMarco’s most recent crusade — while interviewing him over the phone about the passage of health care reform this spring, our conversation was interrupted several times by passersby congratulating Vinny on the news — but the book tells the story of a guy who has passionately fought many other battles.

From the publisher:

In twenty years of organizing campaigns in Maryland, he has led successful efforts to pass gun control laws (against National Rifle Association opposition), to hike cigarette taxes to prevent youth smoking, and to extend health care to hundreds of thousands of low-income workers. He has also built a unique alliance of mainstream and conservative faith groups, which helped secure rare bipartisan votes in Congress for the enactment in July 2009 of landmark FDA regulation of tobacco manufacture and marketing.

The book promises backroom discussions, and apparently, DeMarco names names. Sounds like a compelling read.

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