They promised to expand health insurance coverage to those in need and protect those currently insured from huge premium increases. Last year, even Gov. Robert Ehrlich threw his support behind the concept of universal health care. Despite this, the legislature's and the governor's efforts have fallen embarrassingly short.

On the last day of this year's legislative session, the state Senate killed a bill that would have given 76,000 lower-income parents access to quality, affordable health insurance and would have allowed thousands of children to re-enroll in the children's health insurance program. It would have strengthened the health care safety net and provided more fair reimbursement for doctors treating Medicaid patients. Had it been enacted, this law would have brought us closer to health care for all and would have dramatically improved the lives of thousands of families.

Many political pundits think we had the votes for final passage. Some think the bill got caught up in General Assembly bickering on the slots/tax battle. Others think committee turf battles killed the bill. Still others think the governor turned some heads with his veto threat. Regardless of the true cause, our lawmakers and the governor sacrificed health care security for 76,000 Marylanders and thousands of children.

Soon after the session's end, Maryland for Health Care, a project of the Service Employee International Union, sent a message to voters, informing them of their state senator's "no" vote on this key piece of health care legislation, which died for lack of two votes.

And while our organization did not create or fund this campaign, we certainly supported Maryland for Health Care's efforts to educate Maryland's voters on this missed opportunity.

So how long will we have to wait before our lawmakers and governor take action? Marylanders need access to quality, affordable coverage that includes primary, specialty, hospital and mental health care. For most of the state's 1.5 million uninsured and underinsured residents, getting needed care is rare. And high medical bills are a reality for those who do receive treatment. No doubt, these Marylanders wonder if getting treated will bankrupt their family and ruin their dream of financial stability. And for those of us who are insured, we wonder when the quickly escalating costs of health care coverage are going to catch up with our middle-class salaries. In this economy, we are all a pink-slip away from having no coverage, no health security and huge medical debt.

And as the premiums for health insurance rise higher and higher, it becomes less likely that we will be able to afford health insurance in the long term.

Since the late 1990s, we've conducted 24 town meetings across the state, sought input from health care stakeholders, and asked for public input. We also hired nationally renowned experts from Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland and Georgetown University to write a sensible plan based on this input. Our plan expands existing sources of private and public insurance so that Marylanders have access to care throughout their lifetimes. It's funded by a combination of payroll assessments on businesses that do not provide health coverage for employees, maximizing federal matching dollars, a modest tobacco tax increase, and a sliding scale premium for newly insured individuals.

Some might argue that universal coverage is a great goal for better economic days. Yet even during the economic boom of the 1990s, the number of uninsured and underinsured in Maryland grew substantially. Talk minus action equals nothing. And though the governor and legislature talked a good talk, they failed us.

While we wait for legislative action, health care costs keep rising and the ranks of the uninsured swell, both of which threaten our families' and our state's economic futures.

It's time for political bickering to be put aside. It's time for those in office to do the right thing and to keep the promises they made. It's time for real health care expansion in Maryland.

Glenn E. Schneider is executive director and Vince DeMarco is president of the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative, a Baltimore-based statewide health care consumer group.