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Michigan Chamber of Commerce Opposes 'Blank Check' Healthcare Ballot Proposal

Saturday, April 26, 2008 General News
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LANSING, Mich., April 25 The Michigan Chamberof Commerce today announced its opposition to the state health coveragemandate that may find its way to the November 2008 ballot and constitutionallyrequire the Legislature to design and pass a universal health care system. TheMichigan Chamber cited serious concerns with the wide open and undefinedlanguage contained in the proposal and the fact that Michigan job providersand taxpayers would need to write a blank check to pay for associated costs.
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The ballot proposal currently being circulated would constitutionallyrequire the Legislature to "pass laws to make sure that every Michiganresident has affordable and comprehensive health care coverage through a fairand cost effective financing system." To date, ballot circulators claim tohave collected 100,000 of the 380,000 signatures needed to place the questionon the November ballot.
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"Although the idea of affordable and comprehensive health care foreveryone is a laudable goal, this proposal will inevitably mean differentthings to different people because the language is extremely broad andundefined," said Wendy Block. "For example, to some, 'comprehensive' may meanthat they are able to access their family doctor or local emergency room but,to others, this may mean they are also able to get elective cosmetic surgery."

"The vague wording of this proposal, if passed, will trigger years oflitigation," noted Jim Holcomb, Michigan Chamber Vice President of BusinessAdvocacy & Associate General Counsel. "As a result, the courts -- notlegislators -- will ultimately be writing these laws and the meaning of theselaws would be subject to change over time as different courts alter themeaning of the various definitions."

"Another major flaw of this proposal is that it fails to identify the costof this government mandate or funding mechanism," said Rich Studley, ExecutiveVice President for the Michigan Chamber. "This is really the constitutionalequivalent of a blank check for health care.

"It is difficult to imagine how this 'goal' could be achieved under thestate's current health care financing system without a significant taxincrease -- or without moving Michigan in the direction of a single-payerstate," Studley added.

"This proposal sounds nice on its surface. However, we are confident thatonce voters are educated about the dangers of the proposal and the negativeimpact it could have on their pocketbooks, they will wisely decide that it'sthe wrong prescription for Michigan," Block concluded.

The Michigan Chamber is a statewide business organization which representsmore than 7,100 employers, trade associations and local chambers of commerce.The Michigan Chamber was established in 1959 to be an advocate for Michigan'sjob providers in the legislative, political and legal process.

SOURCE The Michigan Chamber of Commerce
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