Capitol Chaos...September 16 update

News of the Day
Budget Talks Continue

With only two weeks left before the start of the state’s fiscal year (and almost three months since school districts started their fiscal years), Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop and House Speaker Andy Dillon settled on a “process” to break a logjam and address a $2.7 billion deficit. Several sticking points remain.

Issues that remain in contention between House and Senate negotiators include: cuts in college Promise scholarships; state aid to local governments; Medicaid; and the K-12 school aid budget. Senate Majority Leader Bishop continues to express strong opposition to new revenues. Speaker Dillon told Gongwers News Service that Democrats were “fighting to maintain funding for critical areas such Medicaid, early education, revenue sharing, and the Promise scholarships.” Avoiding Senate-passed reductions would require a deal between the House, Senate and Governor on new tax revenues – either by raising taxes and fees, reducing tax breaks, or trying other ways to generate more money. Senate Republicans would likely insist that any deal on new revenue include some form of “government reform.”

This afternoon, joint House-Senate conference committees were given the green light by legislative leaders to start meeting to begin negotiations to work out differences between the two Houses.

The chairs of the K-12 conference committee are Rep. Terry Brown and Senator Ron Jelinek.The other four members of the conference committee have not yet been announced.

Indications are that there is disagreement on how to approach the lack of revenue and how to make cuts if cuts have to be made.

Pick up the phone. Send an e-mail. Tell your state representative to just say NO to the disastrous Senate budget cuts.

Just the Facts
Speaker Dillon’s Proposed Mandatory Government-Run Health Plan

HB 5345 expands state government power over patients’ medical care and puts state government between patients and their doctors. Sec. 12(e) of HB 5345 mandates the use of “clinical advocates” with wide-ranging powers to review and approve (or reject) diagnoses and treatment plans agreed on by patients and their doctors.

Committee Notice
Public Employee Health Care Reform Committee

More testimony is scheduled to be heard on HB 5345 on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009. The hearing will begin at 1 p.m. or after committees are given leave by the House to meet, whichever is later. The hearing will be held in room 519 of the House Office Building in Lansing. See attached list of committee members.

Testimony will be given by the following:

Mike Flanagan, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Michigan Dept of Ed
Brian Morris, Senior Consultant, Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Co.
Richard Cauchi, Health Program Director, National Conference of State Legislatures
Wayne Cass, Chair of the Coalition of Labor Organizations at Michigan State University


Breaking News
Bouchard Names Land

Republican Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard announced in Detroit that Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land will be his running mate in his quest to win the 2010 gubernatorial election.

Granholm Recall Moves Forward

The Ingham County Elections Commission voted two to one to authorize a recall of Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

Michigan Corrections Officer Paul Pache received the okay during his fourth appearance before the election panel.

Granholm’s attorney is considering an appeal even though he concedes that it will be very difficult to gather the 950,000 signatures necessary to put the recall before Michigan voters.

Reminder
Use of School E-mail
Many districts have policies about communicating with legislators on school time and equipment, so wait until you are away from school to contact your legislators or use your personal cell phone when you are off duty. To stay informed at home, sign up to receive the MEA Votes e-newsletter at newsletter@meavotes.org.

Stay tuned to your Inbox every day for updates or go online at http://www.myMEA.org for archives of all the materials.

Organized Labor's letter to Speaker Dillon's regarding his health insurance proposal

You can find the letter here that organized labor sent to Speaker Dillon this week regarding his proposal to pool health insurance benefits for public sector employees.

Demand Speaker Dillon provide facts on his plan

By now, you are seeing all kinds of articles and stories about Speaker Dillon's proposed plan to place all public employee into a statewide health care plan. The results of this plan would slash your health coverage and strip your rights to bargain about them. His proposal is anti-union, anti-collective bargaining and anti-public school employee. He maintains his idea could save up to $900 million, but his numbers don’t add up and he won’t provide information or legislation to back up his claims.

This plan has gotten a lot of press – and MEA has been at the heart of this fight for the health care that keeps you and your family safe. But to win this debate, we continue to need your help in getting the facts out and ensure that your legislators in Lansing understand how strongly we oppose the Speaker’s scheme (which is nothing more than a PR stunt to fuel his run for governor).

What are the facts?

• During the past three years, Michigan’s school employees have already saved taxpayers more than $700 million in health insurance costs by accepting lower cost health coverage or paying more out of pocket for copays and premiums.
• Through salary and wage concessions during the past three years, Michigan school employees have saved taxpayers an additional $200 million. That’s almost a billion dollars in savings for Michigan taxpayers paid for by public school employees alone. And state and municipal employees are giving in huge numbers as well.
• In order to save $900 million, Speaker Dillon's plan would have to massively cut school employee health care premiums – some by as much as half. That's not efficiency or a small trim – that's gutting the health insurance of thousands of Michigan workers and their families.
• Savings can’t come from efficiency alone. In fact, research shows that once you get more than 20,000 people in a health care pool, there are no more cost savings to be gained – and virtually all public employees are already in pools bigger than that.
• As taxpayers, this isn’t a savings to you – it’s simply a cost shift that attempts, yet again, to balance the budget on your back.
• Dillon’s plan will eliminate any local control over costs and benefits. Why should we strip local school districts and local governments of the ability to collectively bargain with employees to make decisions that are right for their communities?
• Health care is a national problem that requires a national solution – one that our leaders in Washington are working on right now. For the first time, Washington is on the verge of actually controlling the cost of health care and expanding coverage to all Americans. Speaker Dillon’s plan does neither.

Your legislators in Lansing need to hear these facts. They need to stand up and demand that the Speaker provide details and legislation to back up his claims. They need to defend the health care and bargaining rights of half a million Michigan public workers and their families.

Take time to contact your legislators and communicate the points above.

Speaker Dillon's Health Plan: No winners, only losers

Speaker Dillon released a plan last week to create a statewide health care plan for all public employees. It promises savings through the creation of a health care system managed by the state that eliminates the ability of local school districts and school employees to bargain these benefits.

Who loses under this plan?

• Public school employees have already delivered millions in savings by accepting lower salaries, cuts to their benefits and sharing in the cost of health care. In the 9G/H office, many locals have already shifted their insurance from 5/10 prescription copays to 10/20 prescription copays. This change in prescription copays saved the districts almost 10% in health care premiums.
• Public employees have taken reductions in pay and benefits, just like every other taxpayer. State mandated financial reports show that the portion of school revenue that goes to employee compensation has been decreasing.
• Public employees are taxpayers. This does not save them anything. It merely shifts the costs and burdens to them.
• This plan attempts to shift control over schools from the local communities to the politicians in Lansing. If Lansing assumes control over health care benefits, it will be another example of how local school districts have lost control over another portion of their operations. If Lansing continues to take control from school districts, there will be no need for local school boards and many administrators.

So who wins? Not taxpayers, public employees, or local communities. Is this political maneuvering by Speaker Dillon in an attempt to run for Governor in 2010? Should the health care benefits of 400,00 public employees be sacrificed for the political aspirations of one person?

Speaker Dillon's plan is a distraction from what should be the focus: passing a budget that moves Michigan in a positive direction. Let our national leaders focus on health care reform.