Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson outlined the health policy platform for her campaign for governor Thursday.
Benson, a Democrat, laid out a few main parts of her vision, which she said centers around access, affordability, and fairness. Goals to accomplish that include a new caregiver tax credit, helping people with insurance disputes, and creating a prescription drug affordability board to keep medicine costs in check.
The policy goals would rely heavily on the state Department of Health and Human Services, which Benson said could be doing more to meet the moment.
When asked if she would support universal healthcare during a press conference Thursday, Benson said healthcare should be available to everyone but argued any idea is only as good as the agency in charge of putting it in place.
“The centerpiece of my plan is recognizing that an outdated infrastructure bogs down MDHHS and that’s what we have to fix in order to achieve any of these outcomes. The agency is overburdened, it’s under resourced, and it’s a safety-net system that is failing and that is at the core of a lot of the stories I’m hearing around the state,” Benson said.
Benson predicted health care will be among the top issues during this year’s election. Yet, some of the ideas she floated have struggled to get through the state Legislature in recent years, even with her party in charge.
When Democrats were in full control last session, drug affordability bills passed the Senate but died in the House in the final days of the year. The same happened with another policy Benson supported to address racial inequities in maternal healthcare.
This session, bill packages for both have passed the Democratic-controlled Senate but stalled in the Republican-led house.
Benson said she would consider using executive action to implement her policies if legislative support isn't there.
“As the next governor of Michigan, ensuring our healthcare system is affordable, accessible, and fair is my priority. And working with every single person to get that done while using every tool in my toolbox to get that done will be my mandate and will be my north star,” she told reporters.
Benson faces other candidates including Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, former Cape Coral, Florida, Mayor Marni Sawicki, and research scientist Kevin Hogan, for the Democratic nomination for governor.
Michigan’s next governor will have to contend with new federal rules taking effect in 2027 that could reduce access to Medicaid, including the implementation of work requirements for many people to be eligible for the federal health insurance program.
Benson said her priority would be using state resources to soften that blow.
“It all boils down to, at a time when the federal government is abdicating its responsibility to invest in people’s health, the state will step up its responsibility through the empowerment of our state agency to be on the side of residents who need that care, who need that support, and need all of us working together to ensure a healthier Michigan,” she said.
