A state lawmaker has plans to bring universal health care to Michigan.
Ann Arbor Democrat Yousef Rabhi announced the 'MiCare' program on Tuesday. It would provide comprehensive healthcare coverage for every Michigan resident, funded through progressive taxes and existing funding. Rabhi says the single-payer plan will reduce costs for every-day working families.
"I just don't think that's acceptable for us to live in a society where people are literally making that decision of, do i get the cancer treatment that I need, or do I pay my mortgage for the next two months?", said Rabhi.
He says the program would reduce the overall price of health insurance by $20 billion in the first year, by "reducing billing costs to providers, eliminating insurance company profits, consolidating overhead administrative costs and leveraging the buying power of a single payer to negotiate prices."
Under the plan, the wealthiest taxpayers would pay "their fair share" through graduated income and capital gains taxes. Working class families would pay a progressive payroll tax. Large and medium employers would pay a payroll tax set at a level lower than the current average employer expenditures for employee health care, according to Rabhi.
If passed by the legislature and signed into law, it would be the first publicly administered and publicly funded state-wide health care system in the country.
