[Michigan] Granholm details plan to cover Michigan's uninsured

from The Traverse City Record Eagle

LANSING (AP) — Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Thursday that she wants to offer affordable health insurance to all 1.1 million uninsured residents in Michigan.

Granholm provided more details of a proposal first unveiled in January, saying it has many similarities to Massachusetts, which just passed a landmark law designed to make sure nearly all of the state's uninsured residents have health care coverage.

"This plan will provide a quality product at an affordable cost, create incentives for business and help bring down health care costs for everyone," Granholm said at Lansing's Sparrow Hospital.

The state must receive federal approval to adopt the plan, which it plans to pay for with a mix of state and federal funds.

When Granholm announced the proposal in January, it was designed to work through private insurers to cover 550,000, or half, of the state's uninsured non-elderly residents with incomes below 200 percent of the poverty line. That's $38,700 for a family of four and $19,140 for a single person.

But Thursday, she said the state also wants to offer plans to people making above 200 percent of the poverty level. Participants would be charged premiums and copays on a sliding scale, with lower-income residents paying nominal out-of-pocket costs.

Unlike Massachusetts, however, Michigan wouldn't require its residents to have insurance.

Granholm said she thinks Michigan residents will want to participate because the health insurance would be subsidized and affordable.

"We are providing them an offer they can't refuse," she said.

But Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature remained skeptical.

Ari Adler, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema of Wyoming, said the federal government has yet to sign off on the waiver Granholm has requested to get $600 million in federal dollars to help pay for the plan.

"It seems like the governor is making a lot of promises," Adler said, questioning how the proposal wouldn't cost the state more money. "We're just not sure if it's going to pan out yet."

State officials are continuing to negotiate with federal officials.

Those participating in the plan would get health care through private insurers, and benefits would include preventive and primary care, emergency room visits, hospital services and prescription drugs.

A goal is to entice small businesses to buy the plans for their employees, offering pre-tax incentives. Twenty-five percent of Michigan's uninsured work for small businesses, Granholm said.

Employers that buy insurance through the proposed Michigan First Health Care Plan could collect workers' premiums through payroll deductions.

Granholm plans to visit Kalamazoo on Friday to discuss her proposal.