I'm proud that we stood strong and defended vulnerable people during our fiscal crisis last year. Thanks to so many of you, no senior, no person with a disability had their Medicaid coverage taken from them. And no child was cut off health care.
I personally take great pride - and you should too - in the fact that Michigan now has the highest rate of insured children in our nation.
But there is more to do. Today, every insured family pays more when uninsured families are forced to get basic health care in an expensive emergency room. When everyone has access to affordable healthcare, healthcare will become more affordable for everyone. We have asked for federal support for our Michigan First Health Care Plan to expand coverage to the uninsured in Michigan and haven't gotten it. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that as the administration in Washington prepares to leave office, they are unwilling to support states, including Michigan, in providing care for those who need it.
We won't stop fighting for fair treatment in Washington this year. And when a new president takes office next January, I guarantee we'll be first in line to provide affordable, accessible health care for all Michigan citizens.
Fair treatment. The devil is always in the details, but on the surface it seems Washington hasn't played fair when working with states on this issue.
Granholm introduced the Michigan First Health Care Plan in the SotS Address 2006, and rolled out the details of the plan in May of that year. At that time, we entered into negotiations with the feds on a Medicaid waiver-
To implement this plan, the state will apply for a federal Medicaid waiver. This waiver will provide Michigan with the flexibility necessary to redirect existing state resources and new federal dollars to provide premium assistance for private health insurance products for uninsured individuals who do not currently have access to affordable health care coverage.
A couple of months later, a certain Republican governor out East was holding a press conference to announce that his state had received the waiver, and a certain Bush administration official was right there to applaud the move.
State officials said the agreement, known as a Medicaid waiver , also includes an additional $225 million annually to expand Medicaid programs for the poor.
The state's new healthcare plan will offer a combination of subsidized and low-cost insurance plans, the expansion of Medicaid coverage , and incentives for businesses to cover workers, and also require that everyone have some form of coverage.
"It means that Massachusetts is now at the forefront of a revolution in the way we think about healthcare," Governor Mitt Romney said at a news conference, which was attended by Michael Leavitt, secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Mike Leavitt had this to say at the time; a bit ominous in its tone, but generally accepting of the importance of the help the federal government provided.
Leavitt said that "every component of our society" needs to contribute to giving all Americans access to "affordable, basic healthcare."
He praised the Massachusetts program as "an important national model," but he also warned that implementation of the insurance program could create unexpected problems.
"None of us should expect perfection here," Leavitt said. "Mistakes are going to be made. Lessons are going to be learned. They'll be learned by lots of people, and we'll get better at this. But this is an important moment, and not just today in the state of Massachusetts, but also across the country."
So what of Michigan? Well, there was that pesky election that probably got in the way a bit, but by the end of 2006, the Granholm administration was still working with Leavitt on details.
This was Granholm's second meeting this year with Secretary Leavitt to discuss partnering with the federal government to help control the costs of the health care by expanding access to affordable, private health insurance coverage.
"We are pleased to learn more about Governor Granholm's ideas for expanding access to affordable health insurance to the citizens of Michigan," Leavitt said. "While financing is always a challenge, I commend the Governor for looking to market-based solutions and look forward to working with her on the details of the state's proposal."
Not much was mentioned in 2007. It would pop up here and there, stories of negotiations still continuing, but basically it faded out of the media consciousness as the budget battle grabbed center stage.
Just recently, a clue as to what has happened to the attitude of co-operation at the federal level hit the press- and now we know why Granholm said what she said in the SotS address last Tuesday. Where's the love, Mike?
The Bush administration's health agenda this year will consist largely of fending off Democratic lawmakers until a new president and Congress take charge.
In a preview of what's ahead, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt says the administration will work to limit the government's role in the delivery of health care. That goal is at odds with several Democratic proposals, such as giving the health chief the power to negotiate drug prices and greatly increasing enrollment in federally sponsored health insurance for children.
Now the Bush administration is going to block everything they can and label it as "socialized medicine", or whatever seemingly derogatory term they can come up with, even if it's not warranted. When speaking about SCHIP, NJ Democrat Frank Pallone called them out.
Under the program, the government and states subsidize insurance for children in low-income families that do not qualify for Medicaid. Leavitt often refers to the children's insurance program as government-run health care. Pallone, however, notes that private insurers routinely contract with states to administer the benefit.
The administration is "into this ideological labeling of everything, even when there's no basis for it," Pallone said.
So know you know basically what has happened to the Michigan First Health Care Plan. It's still out there, but we will have to wait a bit longer. Even though Granholm wants to stay in Michigan, karma demands she be offered Mike Leavitt's job, don't you think?
353 days to go...