Benson is the only candidate in the race with a plan to lower healthcare costs

Michigan Nurse: “I trust her [Benson] to get it done”

Last month, Jocelyn Benson released her plan to lower healthcare costs, improve outcomes, and ensure Michiganders in every corner of the state have access to quality care. Benson is the only candidate for governor with a plan to fix Michigan’s broken healthcare system. While she’s traveled the state, listening to Michiganders’ stories and sharing her healthcare affordability plan, the leading Republican candidate has consistently voted to raise healthcare costs and gut Medicaid and the “Independent” says Medicaid cuts aren’t that bad for the hundreds of thousands who rely on them.

Benson’s plan will drive down the cost of premiums and prescription drugs, eliminate surprise billing, expand access to care across the state, especially in rural and underserved areas, and grow our healthcare workforce to meet demand across the state.

In case you missed it…

In print:

WZMQ – Marquette, MI: Benson outlines sweeping healthcare overhaul in gubernatorial bid

[2/18/2026]

Democratic candidate and current Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is centering her campaign on healthcare reform.

[...]

Benson’s proposal calls for identifying and eliminating administrative waste within MDHHS, then redirecting those savings toward expanding care and consumer protections. She said reforms would make the department more user-friendly and better equipped to advocate for patients when insurers deny doctor-recommended treatments.

Her plan would also require hospitals to provide upfront cost estimates for patients and would reform the state’s complaint system for residents challenging insurance denials.

Detroit Free Press: Benson says health care affordability a priority if elected governor

[Clara Hendricks, 1/8/2026]

If elected as Michigan's next governor, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said health care affordability would be a top priority, outlining steps the state could take as federal health care cuts backed by Republicans take effect and Democrats seize on the issue in the midterm elections.

"I hear so much about this every day, and it's clear to me that it will be the defining issue of 2026," Benson said during a news conference Thursday, Jan. 8. As she vies to become the Democratic nominee for governor, Benson said, everywhere she goes on the campaign trail, she hears "heart-wrenching" stories about the toll high health care costs have taken on Michigan's residents.

[...]

Benson also outlined health care workforce development, Black maternal health and mobile health care as other key priorities of her plan.

Crain’s Detroit Business: Benson declares health care the defining issue of 2026 election

[David Eggert, 7/24/2025]

Benson, a second-term secretary of state, said she would empower the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to go to bat for people whose insurers reject doctor-recommended treatments and to implement debt-forgiveness programs; increase access to financial counseling; and partner with hospitals to limit "aggressive" bill collections. She also would "transform" the department, which she said is "too complicated, outdated and disconnected from the people it serves," so Medicaid and food assistance beneficiaries can access benefits amid federal changes she said are "creating more burdens" for residents.

MLive: Benson campaign shares healthcare agenda reviving several Whitmer priorities

[Danielle James, 1/8/2026]

Benson said at nearly every campaign stop she’s made so far, from Iron River in the Upper Peninsula to Detroit, Michiganders have shared “heart-wrenching stories about a broken, unfair, inaccessible and increasingly unaffordable healthcare system.”

“It is crushing the hope of the people who have played by all the rules, who are working to live within their means and who still worry every day that they are just one major injury or illness away from bankruptcy,” Benson said. “So as leaders in Michigan, we have a moral responsibility to fix this.”

[...]

Among the changes Benson said can be expected are reforming how complaints are filed against the state’s hospitals and insurance providers, along with investing in mobile health centers and education programs in hopes of bolstering care in Michigan’s high-need areas.

Michigan Advance: As Michigan’s August primary draws closer, Benson promises focus on affordable health care

[Kyle Davidson, 1/8/2026]

With Benson and her campaign having touted her work in reshaping Michigan’s Department of State – taking Michigan from 31st in the nation to 2nd in election administration and implementing several voter-initiated reforms including same day voter registration and no-reason absentee voting – Benson pledged to similarly transform the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the state’s largest department.

“As Secretary of State, I transformed our state’s second largest agency to be service driven, saving residents time and money and making their lives easier,” Benson said. “Now I want to make all of state government work that well.”

At present, the state health department is too complicated, outdated and disconnected from the people it serves, Benson said, later telling reporters that a revamp of the department would be a centerpiece of her health care agenda.

Gongwer: Benson unveils health care plan: Caregiver tax credits, price transparency and empowering DHHS

[1/8/2026]

Benson said she hears about health care costs more than almost any other issue when she speaks to voters across the state about problems they hope their next governor will address. Affordability, she said, is central to her plan, and can be made possible in part by transforming DHHS and giving the state's largest department the ability to act as a check on exorbitant costs for both care and prescription drugs.

"Right now, the agency is too complicated, outdated and disconnected from the people it serves. I will work to transform it using the same data driven, people centered approach that revolutionized (the Department of State)," she said. "Where federal changes are creating more burdens for residents to get access to Medicaid and other provisions, I will ensure MDHHS works with patients and providers to make it as easy and seamless as possible for Michigan residents to access their medical coverage and support. That means also building an internal infrastructure that will use all the data that we already have as a state to ensure eligible Michiganders can keep their Medicaid or SNAP access without having to jump through additional hoops, fill out additional duplicated forms and overall engage in an inefficient process."

Michigan Advance: Benson says as governor, there is ‘a moral responsibility’ to address Black maternal health care

[Katherine Dailey, 2/9/2026]

“As leaders in Michigan, we have a moral responsibility to fix this,” [Benson] said. “As your next governor, I will treat and prioritize and address the Black maternal health care crisis with the urgency and it demands.”

Danielle Atkinson, the executive director of Detroit-based nonprofit Mothering Justice, said that in many cases, campaign platforms around health care ignore women’s health and maternal health, especially for women of color.

[...]

“She is the only candidate for governor with a comprehensive agenda to bring down costs and tackle the Black maternal health care crisis,” [Flint nurse Janet Poole-Little said]. “Don’t let anyone fool you, we can and must do both at the same time. Her plan isn’t just another set of empty promises, but a strategy based on what we in the medical field know works and doesn’t work.”

[...]

Atkinson and Poole-Little also pointed to her [Benson’s] experience as Secretary of State as proving her ability to achieve policy priorities in each of their respective remarks.

“I trust her to get it done,” Poole-Little said.

Michigan Public Radio: Democratic candidate for MI governor calls for expanding pre- and post-natal care for Black mothers

[Steve Carmody, 2/9/2026]

As part of her campaign for governor, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said on Monday that addressing the state’s Black maternal health crisis is a key part of her plan.

“Black women in our state are nearly three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women,” said Benson.

[...]

Benson said, as Michigan’s Secretary of State, she’s learned how she could streamline and reorganize the health department to implement her plan.

“I’ll do the same as governor to make sure every agency is as efficient and customer service oriented as our office is,” Benson told reporters in Flint.

WWMT - Kalamazoo, MI: Benson says as governor, there is ‘a moral responsibility’ to address Black maternal health care

[2/9/2026]

"As Secretary of State, I worked across the aisle to cut waste, modernize services, and save Michiganders time and money through smart efficiencies. We’ll take that same approach to maternal health care: securing funding, building coalitions, and making sure preventative care reaches every corner of Michigan. When moms get care early, we prevent costly emergencies later. This isn’t about new spending. It’s about priorities – and investing smarter to save lives and lower costs in the long run," said Benson.

WSBT – South Bend, IN: Jocelyn Benson aims to have hospitals show patients costs up front if elected Governor

[2/9/2026]

As part of her goals if she is elected as Michigan's next Governor, her campaign says she will help in the fight against "unfair" medical bills.

Benson hopes to create an online portal to report hospitals that don't follow the rules of a new initiative that would require hospitals to show patients their costs upfront.

Violators would then be held accountable by the Attorney General's Office, if this new plan was to come into effect.

On the airwaves:

WWMT – Kalamazoo, MI: “The bottom line for me is this, the next Governor of Michigan must be prepared on day one to leverage every tool in the toolbox to ensure health care is affordable, accessible, and fair in our state,” said Benson.

WJBK – Detroit, MI: “Speaking virtually today, Benson says if elected, health care affordability would be a top priority. The Democrat says on the campaign trail, she's heard heart wrenching stories about the high cost of coverage. She also called MDHHS outdated and disconnected from the people it serves.”

WLNS – Lansing, MI: “Current Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson, laid out her health care affordability agenda. She says her plan will reform the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services using the same data-driven, people-centered approach that transformed the Secretary of State's office – which includes driving down the cost of premiums and prescription drugs through an affordability board – and implementing transparent hospital pricing.”

WSHM - Flint, MI: Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson … was in Flint earlier this afternoon, highlighting some changes to health care that she would implement if she is elected governor. Her focus was on what she calls the Black maternal health crisis. Benson says that Black women are more likely to give birth prematurely or die from pregnancy related causes compared to their white counterparts. … If elected governor, Benson says that her goal is to address the issue by investing in culturally competent care, requiring bias and equity training, and expanding access to Medicaid covered services. Benson says she would also create an online portal to report hospitals that don't follow the rules of a new initiative that would require hospitals to show patients their costs up front.”

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