Michigan Senate passes legislation to add key pieces of Affordable Care Act into state law
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Lawmakers in the state Senate passed bills Tuesday to codify in state law health care protections included in the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA).
It marked the second vote in the state Legislature on a top priority of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's since lawmakers returned from summer break. In a speech she delivered this summer, Whitmer urged lawmakers to pass legislation codifying "the common sense cost saving measures of the ACA" this fall.
"Every Michigander deserves quality, affordable care," Whitmer said.
The five-bill package approved Tuesday would essentially add to state law key pieces of former President Barack Obama's signature health care law:
House Bill 4619 would bar insurers from denying insurance to individuals based on their gender, gender identity or expression or sexual orientation. It would expand the current prohibition on insurers from charging different rates for the same coverage.
House Bill 4620 would ban insurers from denying coverage to someone with a preexisting condition.
House Bill 4621 would allow young adults to stay on their parents' health insurance until they're 26 years old.
House Bill 4622 would ban insurers from imposing annual or lifetime caps on essential services.
House Bill 4623 would require insurers to cover certain services such as hospitalization, pregnancy care and mental health and substance use disorder services.
All Senate Democrats voted in favor of the legislation along with a handful of GOP lawmakers with the exception of House Bill 4623 which passed on a party-line vote. State Sen. Mark Huizenga, R-Walker, spoke out against the entire package, calling it duplicative with federal law.
The state House previously voted on the legislation in the summer. The bills received bipartisan support in that chamber.
Democratic lawmakers in the state House touted the legislation as a way to protect Michigan residents in the event parts of the ACA are struck down in court and said that the bills don't put in state law provisions not currently in place at the federal level.
"They simply ensure those federal protections are made here in Michigan for generations to come," said state Rep. John Fitzgerald, D-Wyoming, in a floor speech ahead of the House vote.
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The votes Tuesday were not the only ones taken in line with Whitmer's stated health policy goals. On a party-line vote last week, Michigan Democrats approved legislation to establish a prescription drug affordability board empowered to set upper payment limits for select high-cost drugs. Whitmer and Democratic lawmakers argue such a board would hold pharmaceutical companies accountable and lower costs for patients.
Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan bills would add ACA protections to state law
