Forget that national healthcare rumpus. Health insurance reform wars, Michigan style, are in full swing.
For months, House Speaker Andy Dillon has preached the benefits of his proposal to place all public employees in Michigan in the same insurance pool, claiming it will save an estimated $900 annually. But a newly released study claims it will not save any money at all, Gongwer News reported.
The analysis was done by Public Policy Associates for Citizens for Accountability in Reform, which is an umbrella group of several labor unions, including Michigan Education Special Services Association. Unions have opposed the plan.
Douglas Drake, senior policy consultant for Public Policy Associates, said Dillon’s proposed savings are “illusionary” because they rely on administrative savings at the local level and because the economies of scale the pool seeks have mostly already been realized.
The study found the state will likely need to expend $295 million to $370 million to run the pool, which was based on comparisons from the commercial insurance market and the experience of other states studied. In the first few months, the state will need $400 million to $500 million to help cover initial claims. The report also questions the legality of requiring universities to be in the pool since they have constitutionally protected autonomy from state government.
Point to employee unions. Serve goes to Dillon.
