Detroit Free Press
As the Senate debates landmark health insurance reforms, an advocacy organization released a report Wednesday saying 776,000 Michigan residents will gain coverage by 2019 if Congress approves the changes.
If the legislation does not pass, at least 200,000 more Michigan residents will lose health insurance by 2019, according to FamiliesUSA, a Washington health research organization that supports federal reforms. Now, about 1.3 million people in the state are without health insurance or Michigan Medicare, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health. The numbers grow monthly as more people lose jobs and workplace health benefits.
"The consequences of inaction are very severe for people across the country," said Ron Pollack, executive director of the organization, in a news media briefing Wednesday.
Pollack said pending Senate legislation would require insurers to take people with pre-existing conditions; expand eligibility for Medicaid, and give tax credits, a type of subsidy, for others slightly above federal poverty guidelines, so they can buy Michigan health insurance. He expects monthly premiums paid by those who now are insured may drop because reforms would end cost-shifting to care for the uninsured by charging insured patients more.
If the legislation does not pass, at least 200,000 more Michigan residents will lose health insurance by 2019, according to FamiliesUSA, a Washington health research organization that supports federal reforms. Now, about 1.3 million people in the state are without health insurance or Michigan Medicare, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health. The numbers grow monthly as more people lose jobs and workplace health benefits.
"The consequences of inaction are very severe for people across the country," said Ron Pollack, executive director of the organization, in a news media briefing Wednesday.
Pollack said pending Senate legislation would require insurers to take people with pre-existing conditions; expand eligibility for Medicaid, and give tax credits, a type of subsidy, for others slightly above federal poverty guidelines, so they can buy Michigan health insurance. He expects monthly premiums paid by those who now are insured may drop because reforms would end cost-shifting to care for the uninsured by charging insured patients more.
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