Public employee health care still on the agenda
MEA opposes Senate Bills 1046 and 1047
Even as work groups assigned to study various aspects of House Bill 5345, the proposed mandatory state-run health plan for all public employees, wrap up their work, the Michigan Senate is beginning work on a series of bills dealing with public employee health care.
Notably, bills that would mandate that public employees pay a certain percentage of their health premiums have been assigned to a newly formed Senate committee. The Committee on Reforms and Restructuring will consider Senate Bills 1046 and 1047, part of a broader "reform agenda" from Senate Republicans, in the coming weeks.
The bills represent an unwarranted intrusion on local control. And, the effort is yet another heavy-handed attempt by the Legislature to apply a one-size-fits-all solution to complex problems, including the state's structural deficit. Some lawmakers continue to look for ways to balance the budget on the backs of public employees, ignoring the fact that Michigan needs a comprehensive, long-term solution that will allow the economy -- and the people who live and work here -- to prosper.
Here's a summary of the health care proposals that the Senate panel will consider:
Senate Bill 1046, sponsored by Rep. Mark Jansen, R-Grand Rapids: The bill would limit the amount public employers can pay for employee health care plans to 80 percent. If the plan included a wellness plan and a health savings account, then the public employer could pay 85 percent of the overall cost.
Senate Bill 1047, sponsored by Sen. Alan Sanborn, R-Richmond: The bill would allow the state to establish health plans that other public employers could use to buy health benefits for employees.
Senate Joint Resolution P, sponsored by Jansen: This resolution would place before voters a constitutional amendment to empower the Legislature to establish "cost allocation" among public employees and employers, and prohibit any collective bargaining, local or state civil service rule or other provision that is not in compliance with the allocation established by law. In other words, this constitutional amendment would allow the Legislature to do what is proposed in Senate Bill 1046.
Updated: January 29, 2010