LANSING – Michigan is failing to meet its constitutional promise of making public health a matter of top priority, evidenced by the number of uninsured residents in the state, contends a lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of poor patients.
The state also is ignoring its own law, written in 1978, requiring it to have a state health care plan, the complaint alleges. The last plan was drafted in 1996 and designed to last through 2000, according to the lawsuit.
Six plaintiffs, represented by Detroit-based Michigan Legal Services, will file their suit in Ingham Circuit Court.
Gary Benjamin, the attorney representing the patients, called the state’s health care system a mess. Despite an ever-increasing amount of money the state spends on Medicaid, the state-federal health care system for the poor, nearly 1 million residents are uninsured, he said.
But T.J. Bucholz, Department of Community Health spokesperson, said the state has a strong commitment to health care for the poor.
“Michigan, especially under Gov. Granholm, has made a considerable effort through Medicaid to cover as many of our vulnerable citizens as possible,” he said. “In terms of Medicaid, we are having difficulty given the budget constraints we have of making ends meet now. I’m sure that any change to the state budget in regards to providing universal health care to everyone in Michigan would have some huge ramifications.”
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