LANSING, Mich. - The University of Michigan believes that a
plan to create a single health insurance pool for all public employees is
unconstitutional, firefighters believe it's unwise, but the president of
Lansing Community College sees it as the right moral choice, according to a
report by Michigan Information & Research Service Inc.
Those varied opinions were part of testimony presented to
the Public Employee Health Care Reform committee Thursday, MIRS reported. The
panel is conducting hearings on House Speaker Andy Dillon's bill proposing the
pool as a way to save up to $900 million.
Frederick Askari, chair of U-M's Committee on the Economic
Status of the Faculty, testified that only Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
would be large enough to handle such a large employee pool, calling the plan a
"slam-dunk" for the insurer, MIRS reported. Askari also said that the
University of Michigan already has a model health care program and is not
likely to join a state pool.
Statewide and Lansing firefighter union representatives also
spoke against the bill, saying it undermines collective bargaining and that
they doubt the savings will materialize, according to MIRS.
Lansing Community College President Brent Knight spoke in
favor of the plan, calling his testimony a "matter of conscience," MIRS
reported.
He said public employees should have the same benefits as
the private sector, according to MIRS. The college's health care costs rose 14
percent this year and are likely to do so again next year, Knight said.
SOURCE:
Michigan Information & Research Service Inc., "Prof: Dillon Plan A
'Slam Dunk' For Blue Cross," Nov. 20, 2009 (Subscription required)
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Dillon
Insurance Plan Could Generate Monumental Reform," Oct. 5, 2009