In Health, News Releases

LANSING—The Michigan League for Public Policy issued the following statement on the Michigan House’s bipartisan passage of a series of bills today to reduce healthcare costs for Michigan residents. The bills were part of a broader legislative package, but the League’s support focuses on the following: House Bill 4346 to cap insulin copays, House Bill 4349 to require hospitals to post charge descriptions for certain items and services online, House Bill 4353 to require an insurer to count all drug rebates received for a medication toward a family’s maximum out-of-pocket costs or plan deductible, and House Bill 4358 to stop insurance companies from removing a prescription drug from its list of offerings during a plan year (non-medical switching). The statement can be attributed to League President and CEO Gilda Z. Jacobs.

“The League has said for decades that Michiganders’ health should not be tied to their income and that all residents should have access to affordable healthcare. But while some progress has been made with sweeping policy changes like the Affordable Care Act and the Healthy Michigan Plan, we continue to see that prescription prices and the unexpected—and at times shocking— costs of medical services are still devastating for families with lower incomes. Today’s action shows that pricing residents out of life-sustaining and life-saving medicines and procedures is a concern that resonates in every part of the state and on both sides of the aisle, and we appreciate the Legislature’s bipartisan efforts to tackle these issues, rein in some healthcare costs, and bring about more transparency in healthcare.”

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The Michigan League for Public Policy, www.mlpp.org, is a nonprofit policy institute focused on economic opportunity for all. It is the only state-level organization that addresses poverty in a comprehensive way.

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