LANSING – Supporters of a Michigan ballot proposal that would require the Legislature to work on health care issues in the framework of an affordable and comprehensive system officially kicked off their statewide petition signature campaign Tuesday while Gov. Jennifer Granholm joined the coalition in backing the measure.

Granholm said the proposal, which needs more than 380,000 signatures to get on the ballot, is a great idea. She said one of the reasons manufacturing is so challenged in this country is because companies have to bear the cost of health insurance that is picked up in other countries. “We need to be competitive with health care.”

As part of her 2006 State of the State address, the governor had announced her proposal to go after a federal Medicaid waiver in order to cover 550,000 uninsured Michigan adults. But going into Granholm’s 2008 address, administration officials are still in negotiations with the federal government on obtaining the waiver. There are approximately 850,000 Michigan residents without health care insurance.

Former Rep. John Freeman, chair of the Michigan Health Care Security Campaign, said Tuesday it is clear individuals are not getting changes from the federal government on health care for everyone and states are taking a larger role in that discussion. People need to be aware of the fact that the insured are covering the costs of the uninsured, who often seek care in the emergency room, Freeman said, and the campaign is meeting that goal and applying pressure on politicians to act.

The constitutional amendment the group seeks does not contain specific proposals for the Legislature to adopt but provides a framework to mandate an affordable, comprehensive system – either through a public or private body – Freeman said. The coalition includes about two dozen labor, health care, civil rights, faith-based and medical organizations.

No business groups have announced their support for the proposal, but Freeman said he is meeting with organizations like the Michigan Manufacturers Association and Detroit Regional Chamber. He also said that between the ballot drive and the work Small Business Association of Michigan President and CEO Rob Fowler is doing as chair of the Michigan Health Insurance Advisory Council to get specific reforms to the Legislature there is a “two track” system tackling the issue.

But Fowler said that while some members of MHIAC are part of the campaign drive, the organization itself doesn’t have anything to do with it. The council was formed more than two years ago through a Department of Community Health project that received funding from the federal government.

Fowler said everyone does have a stake in finding a statewide solution to dealing with the uninsured and MHIAC is looking for policy agreement to that end but “We are a long way from that.”

It’s not the strategy of MHIAC to have solutions ready for the Legislature by the time citizens would vote on this, he said.

In terms of why SBAM is not part of the campaign, Fowler said he believes if people are going to spend money on a ballot drive it instead should be put toward creating a solution.

“It’s a little bit far-fetched for me to think that’s going to drive the solution,” he said.

And Wendy Block, director of health policy and human resources for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, said while her organization hasn’t taken a position on the measure, they do have concerns that things like “affordable” and “comprehensive” can mean different things to different people, and to the courts, if whatever the Legislature may pass is challenged. Providing universal access is a laudable goal, she said, but the Chamber also wonders whether it can’t be accomplished through statutory and not constitutional changes.

“Every single word in there is undefined,” she said, adding that while proponents of the measure say the state can make changes toward their goal within the amount it spends now on health care, the wording could lead to the state essentially writing a blank check to cover the costs.

If adopted by the voters, the group argues it will ensure that people currently with health care won’t lose it, but Freeman said that doesn’t mean the Legislature should simply prohibit employers from dropping their health care coverage. Instead, he said the group wants to see the Legislature streamline the health care delivery system, therefore slowing down or cutting costs to the program, so businesses can afford to provide coverage to their employees.

In framing the group’s own argument for why it is going about a campaign that approaches health care reform in a broad way, Freeman said, in California, a ballot proposal failed because it outlined specific health care reforms that none of the stakeholders agreed to and in Massachusetts, the ballot drive forced politicians to pay attention and they acted on a bipartisan measure before voters went to the polls. The universal health care plan in Massachusetts was formed after that state received a federal Medicaid waiver.

But Block pointed out that Massachusetts had a seed fund it used to start up its program for the uninsured and Michigan does not. She added that the governor’s waiver approach to getting more people insured is a good first step, although the state is still working on it.

Asked why there is no deadline for the Legislature to act in the proposal given the political wrangling that was particularly heavy last year, Freeman said there aren’t deadlines in the state Constitution and the group wanted to respect that set up.

Norm DeLisle, executive director of the Michigan Disability Rights Coalition, said his group is backing the proposal because members want a system that focuses on acute and chronic treatment.

“There is no good insurance for any single individual unless there is good insurance for everyone. Medicaid is not a solution,” he said.

Dennis Paradis, executive director of the Michigan Osteopathic Association, said the current U.S. health care system is unsustainable and “the states are the laboratories where universal access is being found.”

Rep. Marie Donigan (D-Royal Oak) said many people work for small businesses that can’t afford health care coverage, but the state won’t be able to recover without that coverage. And Senate Minority Leader Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek) said, “Unaffordable health care costs Michigan jobs, makes our companies less competitive, and puts an incredible burden on families who are already struggling to make ends meet. This type of bold reform should be a priority and is frankly long overdue.”

This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com

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