Jocelyn Benson, Sen. Sarah Anthony Share Plan to Tackle Skyrocketing Healthcare Costs After Federal Cuts

Today, Secretary of State and Democratic nominee for Governor Jocelyn Benson held a roundtable with State Senator Sarah Anthony and Lansing community members to discuss the growing consequences of the James-backed cuts to healthcare that are forcing hospital closures and driving medical bills up.

While John James has spent his tenure in Congress gutting the Affordable Care Act and helped ‘lead the charge’ on the largest Medicaid cut in the nation’s history, Jocelyn developed a comprehensive plan to expand access to affordable, quality healthcare, bring down prescription costs, improve outcomes, and tackle the growing physician shortage and healthcare deserts. As governor, Jocelyn will ensure every Michigander, in every zipcode, has access to the affordable, quality healthcare they deserve.

“I'd like to tell the story of a woman named Chris. Chris is a friend of ours. Chris is in her late 50s. Chris has several severe pre-existing health conditions, and for that reason, she had been buying her health coverage on the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Six weeks ago, Chris stood in our kitchen and told us that her premiums were going from $325 a month to $843, plus a $5,500 deductible. That's a $10,000 per year increase,” said Lansing resident and former AARP national president Eric Schneidewind. “If John James is governor, he voted for that program. He voted for that program and he knew it would reduce the [ACA] rolls over 200,000 in this state. So who's sitting in that governor's chair is going to make a huge difference.”

“I believe no one should have to lose sleep worrying about whether or not their family will be able to afford critical care. No one should have to drive hours just to see a doctor. But we know here in this state that's happening far too often. That's why I've made healthcare the defining issue of this campaign — because I know it’s hitting every single person in Michigan in significant ways,” said Jocelyn Benson. “I think the fundamental choice facing voters this fall will be who do your leaders work for: the people or the powerful. My opponent has already shown us who he'll work for. He's voted not once, not twice, but three times to increase that cost of health care on all of us. I believe Michiganders deserve better: they deserve a governor who's going to fight to make sure our health care system works for everybody. And I will be that governor.”

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