MEA Votes

If health insurance -- and the right to collectively bargain whether you have insurance and which plan you have -- is important to you, then you'll want to vote in the Aug. 3 primary.

If health insurance isn't your hot button issue, how about school funding, jobs, outsourcing, or workers' rights?

Because when it comes to these issues -- ranked as important by MEA members statewide -- there's just one candidate who strongly supports public education students and the people who teach and work with them.

That candidate is Democrat Virg Bernero, recommended by MEA in the Aug. 3 election.

A story in today’s Gongwer newsletter noted the one-year anniversary of the introduction of Speaker Andy Dillon’s proposal for a mandatory state-run health insurance pool for public employees.

There’s nothing much to celebrate though. After that full year, the proposal is still stewing in the House, with many lawmakers still uncertain on the basic numbers of Dillon’s plan – including proof of how (or even if) it will save the state money.

Democrats Virg Bernero and Andy Dillon faced off in a June 28 gubernatorial primary debate -- and it's now available for online, on-demand viewing.

The debate was sponsored by the Great Debates 2010 coalition, of which MEA is a part.

As Speaker Andy Dillon’s gubernatorial campaign pushes forward, the media is starting to push back on his outlandish claims about his mandatory state-run health plan for public employees. From Tuesday’s Lansing State Journal editorial page:

When Dillon first launched this idea, an LSJ editorial stated, "House Speaker Andy Dillon has a good concept."

It also stated, "The key problem right now is that Dillon and his supporters don't have the details to carry the argument."

Nearly a year later, that's still the case.

We've already heard how Speaker of the House Andy Dillon's plan to consolidate benefits for over 400,000 public employees, including those working in education, would cost our state over $500 million in the first year alone. The results from a new survey released yesterday shows that over a 59 percent majority opposed the legislation when first asked, and after hearing arguments both in favor of and against the proposal, opposition grew to 71 percent.

Remember hearing about how Speaker of the House Andy Dillon had introduced a plan that he claimed would save the state millions by pooling benefits for groups like teachers and educational staff, police and firefighters? Well, he was wrong then, and a new study by an independent national research firm shows exactly how wrong he was.

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.

House Speaker Andy Dillon today announced his plans for a single, statewide health insurance plan for Michigan public employees that includes all school employees. Despite the lack of proof that such a plan would save any money, Dillon claims his plan could save as much as $900 million a year.

This ill-advised plan would put Michigan bureaucrats in charge of the health care for school employees and their families. Especially amidst our state budget crisis, now isn’t the time for a massive government-run experiment in health care.

Check out the Detroit Free Press coverage of Dillon’s proposal and MEA’s press release.

Let us know what you think! And make sure to make your feelings known to Speaker Dillon and your representative in Lansing.