LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – In January, a record number of Michigan residents signed up for the federal health insurance through the open enrollment period of Obamacare formally referred to as the “Affordable Care Act” or ACA which was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010. Enrollment totaled 322,273 in Michigan, an increase of 7% from last year and a nearly 21% increase over 2021.
However, if for some reason, Obamacare was unavailable to those who needed it, Michigan legislators have passed bills that keep core parts of the health insurance programs in place.
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The Michigan Senate passed legislation last Tuesday that adds key parts of the ACA into state law, codifying many of the protections that are in the the federal ACA. A top priority of the governor, she had urged lawmakers in August during her “What’s Next” speech to pass the legislation to codify the “common sense cost saving measures of the ACA” this fall to protect Michiganders if there was ever a legal challenge to the federal health care law.
Tuesday’s five-bill package includes House Bill 4619: bars insurers from denying insurance to individuals based on their gender, gender identity or expression or sexual orientation. Also expands the current prohibition on insurers from charging different rates for the same coverage; House Bill 4620: bans insurers from denying coverage to someone with a preexisting condition; House Bill 4621: allows young adults to stay on their parents’ health insurance until they’re 26-years-old; House Bill 4622: bans insurers from imposing annual or lifetime caps on essential services; and House Bill 4623: requires insurers to cover certain services such as hospitalization, pregnancy care and mental health and substance use disorder services.
The legislation, voted on by the House in the summer, was passed by all of the Senate Democrats and a handful of GOP lawmakers except for HB 4623 which was passed only by Democrats on a party-line vote.
State Sen. Mark Huizenga (R-Walker) said he supports protecting patients from being denied insurance based on preexisting conditions but said about the whole bill package, “I came here to solve problems like addressing high costs for health care and insurance. And I believe we can work in a bipartisan manner to achieve these goals without pursuing these duplicative measures that have no meaningful impact on current policy.”
John Fitzgerald (D-Wyoming) said about the bills earlier before the House vote, “They simply ensure those federal protections are made here in Michigan for generations to come.”
The bills that passed the Senate without amendment, all but HB 4620, are headed to the governor’s desk to be signed.
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Other health care legislation was approved last week as well. On a party-line vote by Democrats, the Michigan Senate passed legislation that would establish a prescription drug affordability board that would be empowered to set upper payment limits for select high-cost drugs in order to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable and offer lower costs for patients. Gov. Whitmer said about the legislation in a speech to lawmakers this summer, “The board would use data and evidence-based research to tackle the cost of prescription drugs. Nobody should have to make impossible choices between getting better and paying the bills. Let’s get it done.” The three-bill package would require Medicaid and health insurers in Michigan to comply with the payment limits that the board sets up.
State Sen. Lana Theis (R-Brighton) is worried that the upper payment limits set by the board could be cost-prohibitive, forcing manufacturers to limit or prohibit sales of lifesaving prescription drugs in Michigan.
