State lawmakers announced a plan to assist Michigan residents without health insurance this week.
In 1999, 13.5 percent of Michigan’s nonelderly population had no health insurance despite nearly 57 percent holding a full-time job. Low-income families and students were the most likely to be uninsured.
“Too many of our residents are working without health benefits, which only leads to greater health problems and higher costs later in life,” state Sen. Dale Shugars, R-Portage, said in a written statement.
The bill package is aimed at giving job providers and working families incentives to obtain health coverage.
The bills provide tax credits for people purchasing basic coverage, eliminate the premiums tax paid by insurers and create a health benefits account.
The account would allow a person to invest up to $3,000 in health care and receive a tax deduction.
“We need to provide incentives to encourage job providers to offer health insurance coverage for more of Michigan’s working families,” Shugars said.
State Sen. Dianne Byrum, whose district includes MSU, said she is pleased to see Shugars suggest legislation to help Michigan’s uninsured.
However, the Onondaga Democrat said the tax-credit system will not help.
“People without insurance are the working poor and students,” she said. “It is difficult for them to pay the costs upfront because they live paycheck to paycheck.
“The tax credit will press them out of the system.”
Shugars and Byrum will likely discuss the issue in the Senate Health Policy Committee, in which they serve as chairman and minority vice chairwoman, respectively.
Byrum hopes to see insurance reform follow the plan recommended by a collation of health care providers which spoke to the committee a few weeks ago.
“They recommended a public-private partnership like we have here in Ingham County,” she said.
Yvonne Johnson, spokeswoman for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, said the health insurance giant would likely not be affected by the new legislation, but it has not seen a detailed analysis of the legislation.
Johnson said the measure may help the association’s clients.
“The concepts look good because they increase access,” she said.
