Tagged: affordable care act

updated 1:23 p.m.  from Gongwer News Service:

With the vote, House Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Marshall) issued a statement saying there will be no state-run exchange. Bolger spokesperson Ari Adler said it is "highly unlikely" the bill will be reconsidered.

The Affordable Care Act requires that states set up online "health insurance exchanges" by 2014 so consumers can shop for their insurance plans.

The exchanges are supposed to work like an Expedia or Travelocity for health insurance.

If states don't set one up, they'll be required to use a federal exchange.

Republicans in the Michigan legislature have resisted setting up a state-run exchange, hoping the Supreme Court or a Republican President would knock down the Affordable Care Act.

Neither of those things happened, but the resistance continues, as Chris Gautz of Crain's Detroit Business reports today:

The state House Health Policy Committee this morning voted down a bill that would have created a state-based health insurance exchange, with Republicans continuing their opposition.

Rep. Gail Haines, R-Lake Angelus and chairwoman of the committee, voted yes on SB 693 — to audible groans from those packed into the hearing room. But the measure failed on a 9-5 vote, with two abstentions.

A motion then was made to reconsider the vote, which Haines moved to pass for the day and then adjourned the meeting.

Gautz reports "It is unclear whether the House committee will take up the bill again."

This week Rina Miller and Jack Lessenberry discuss how Michigan will comply with the Affordable Care Act, and how the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Michigan's constitutional ban on affirmative action does not hold up under the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause. Lessenberry also remembered the late former first lady, Helen Millikin.

Michigan's longest serving first lady, Helen Milliken, dies at 89

Helen Milliken was Michigan’s first lady for 14 years, from 1969 to 1983.

The Detroit Free Press writes of a Republican who fought for causes that sometimes were at odds with the party:

Helen Milliken is perhaps best remembered as Michigan’s leading proponent of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The ERA, which would have banned discrimination based on sex and authorized Congress to adopt laws enforcing it, came close to passage (it was approved by Congress and 35 of the needed 38 states, including Michigan).

But she was also a leading advocate for the arts and environment, becoming a political force in her own right.

Missing today's due date, Michigan gets a health care exchange extension

Michigan Republicans don't care for it.

And they've been hoping that provisions of the Affordable Care Act would get struck down. That hasn't happened, and one deadline for action is today.

But as MLive's David Eggert reports, they've been given an extension to decide on whether to set up a state run health care exchange:

The Obama administration late Thursday gave Michigan another month to decide if it wants to build its own online marketplace where individuals and businesses can shop for health insurance.

The deadline had been set for today. But in a bow to a request from the Republican Governors Association, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius extended the deadline until Dec. 14.

Detroit Mayor reaches deal to keep city afloat

The dire financial projections for Detroit continue, with some predicting the city could run out of cash in December.

But Michigan Radio's Sarah Hulett reports, Mayor Bing has reached a deal with the state worth $137 million:

Mayor Bing says the agreement will help the city make changes it needs, and avoid running out of cash as early as next month.

"We're asking for $10 million in the month of November. We meet the milestones we've agreed upon, we're asking for $20 million in December, and then we've got another $50 million that will be held in escrow at a later date," Bing said.