Dillon proposal drawing criticism – and strange bedfellows
Speaker Dillon's ill-advised idea for a statewide health insurance pool for public employees is being roundly criticized by many -- and drawing support from at least one strange ally.
These outcries of opposition aren't surprising, given the hasty nature of the rollout of Dillon's plan and the lack of concrete details he's providing about how these bills (which he's yet to produce) actually SAVE money -- rather than just passing costs along to Michigan workers.
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And, of course, don't forget MEA's Facebook page, where many MEA members have sounded off about Dillon's plan.
Even conservative Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson is against the idea. The biggest surprise supporter, however?
Leon Drolet of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance.
Yes, the same Leon Drolet that tried to recall Speaker Dillon last year.
What's that Bob Dylan song? "The times, they are a changin'?"
Sometimes, politics does, in fact, make for strange bedfellows.
Comments
With Michigan's unemployment
With Michigan's unemployment rate at a pace to set an all time record high, now is not the time to race to the bottom on health care. The only way to save the kind of money Dillon is talking about is to slash coverage and increase employee contributions. Maybe those that are questioning the educated guessers should look at what exactly is being said and more importantly not said. "A public school bus driver will have the same coverage as the governor"-a public school bus driver makes alot less money than the governor and could never afford the same contribution. Public school bus drivers carry a higher risk for medical care, it's the nature of their job. This is a national problem, let the federal government take this on. If the state wants to fix something and address the budget, close all the tax loopholes that have been costing the taxpayers millions of dollars every year. Leave the public employees alone that have been saving the state millions of dollars every year.
Health care
Kinda sounds like Obama care doesn't it?
MEA supported Obama and his Healthcare, so what are you now complaining about?
What goes around comes around.
Not really
We believe in extending health care for all Americans just as much as the next. That's not what Dillon is doing. This is about getting rid of benefits -- not expanding them.
Our health care crisis is a national problem needing a national solution. We can't fix health care costs at the state level -- and certainly not by implementing a pool like this. The national government needs to step in and, working with existing insurers, make sure everyone has access to our world-class health care system. And, for the first time in my life, it actually looks like it may happen.
Not Really
Can you tell me what benefits are being removed?
Half of them
In order to save $900 million, Dillon's plan would have to cut school employee health care premiums IN HALF. That's not efficiency or a small trim...that's gutting the health insurance of thousands of Michigan workers and their families.
This isn't about making little trims to balance a small hole in the budget. This is an attack on the health and families of Michigan's school employees. I think we've given enough, having saved $700 million in the past three years by taking lower cost plans or paying more out of pocket in copays and premiums -- let alone millions more in salary and wage concessions. And that's just the school employees -- state and municipal workers have given millions as well.
Enough. Find some real solutions...quit playing these games with the livelihoods of public employees and deal with the fact that the Engler era tax cuts have left this state broke!
Did Mr. Dillon declare that
Did Mr. Dillon declare that he would cut school employee health care in half? Has he actually said this is where the money will come from, or is this just an educated guess? Until the man has declared where and how he plans on achieving that number, I'd rather not start circling the wagons just yet.
$900 million of $1.8 billion is...
There's no way to save $900 million without massively slashing benefits. While he spends all the time talking about bigger pools and greater efficiency, his own documents show that only a fraction of the savings come from that. In order to meet his promises, he doesn't have anywhere else to turn.
If you wait to circle the wagons until the enemy attacks, you tend to not have wagons anymore.