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| Michigan Greens Endorse Lawsuit to Win Health Care for All. |
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Green Party of Michigan April 26, 2004 For More Information Contact: Case Filed by Michigan Legal Services April 20 to Gain Recognition of Right Defined in State's Constitution Issue Covered in Section 2 of GPMI's Social-Justice Platform The Green Party of Michigan enthusiastically endorses a lawsuit filed in Lansing last week to gain formal recognition that everyone in Michigan has a Constitutional right to health care. GPMI's platform calls for universal health care, and the party agreed to support the groups and individuals filing the suit. Last Tuesday, Michigan Legal Services (MLS) filed the lawsuit in Ingham Circuit Court on behalf of several individuals and four groups, citing Michigan's 1963 Constitution and a 1978 law requiring statewide health plans. Groups bringing the lawsuit include the Michigan Universal Health Care Action Network (MichUHCAN), Westside Mothers, the Gray Panthers of Metropolitan Detroit, and the Oakland County Welfare Rights Organization. The suit calls on defendants Governor Jennifer Granholm and Depart- ment of Community Health director Janet Olszewski to protect and promote public health for all -- as required by the state law and Constitution. MLS summarizes the factual background, in part, as follows: In Michigan there are approximately 750,000 people without health insurance. The number of clinics to handle primary care for this population is inadequate. For instance, in Detroit, where 180,000 of the uninsured live, the clinics can care for less than 1/3 of that number. As a result, many uninsured do not get primary care and end up in the emergency room where they receive expensive care at the hospital which could have been avoided had there been primary care. This burden has caused hospitals in Detroit to threaten to close. The legal argument is based on Article 4, Section 51 of the Michigan Constitution, which declares "the public health of the people" a matter " . . . of primary public concern." The section goes on to require the state Legislature to pass laws for the protection and promotion of "the public health." Also cited in the MLS brief is the 1978 "Michigan Health Planning and Health Policy Development Act" (MCL 325.2001), which requires the state to develop a plan to provide ". . . adequate access to health care for all segments of the state's population." At a press conference after filing the lawsuit, MLS attorney Gary Benjamin pointed out that, despite the law and the Constitution, Today we are one of the most unhealthy states in the nation. Today, large segments of our population do not have access to primary health care . . . . We are now over a quarter of a century from that last declaration, and no closer to universal coverage than we were then! Our lawsuit calls for a process to start -- a dialog -- with the agreed-upon goal of universal health care for Michigan. We cannot afford to continue as we are, with major segments of the population having limited or no access to health care. We all agree there is a problem. Let us use this lawsuit as an opportunity to join together as a community, and create a Michigan solution, a solution that gives us "Health insurance for All!" GPMI endorses the lawsuit because the party believes there should be a right to health care. Section 2 ("Health Care") of Part II (Social Justice) of GPMI's platform says: Everyone should have the right of access to medical care. People should have medical insurance -- regardless of their employment status -- and have that insurance cover the medical care that they need. Universal health care is needed, as well as communal child care and reduced cost nursing aid for elders. Art Myatt, chair of GPMI's Platform Committee and a long-time advocate for universal health care, pointed out: "In every other country comparable to the United States in terms of economic development, there is some form of universal health care. "We are the wealthiest of these countries, but they have better infant-mortality rates and better life expectancy than we do. We spend twice as much per person for health care, but get worse results. "Contrary to the mythology popular with Republicans and Democrats alike, we do not have the best health-care system in the world. We have marvelous care only for those who can afford it. The rest of us get rationed care, or none at all." For more information on the lawsuit, e-mail attorney
Gary Benjamin at: gbenjamin@michiganlegal.org
Green Party of Michigan * 548 S. Main Street * Ann Arbor, MI 48104 * 734-663-3555
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