(MPRN-Ypsilanti) Governor Rick Snyder says he’s concerned that President Trump’s decision to end subsidies that help low-income families pay for health insurance could make rates unaffordable.
Snyder says more study is needed to determine the state’s next move, but he hopes Congress will act quickly to settle things.
“I think there are reforms needed to the Affordable Care Act,” he said. “Some parts have worked well, others need more work, and the part that needs more work has been in the insurance markets. This makes it more challenging, but hopefully it gets to the point where Congress could hopefully do some bipartisan actions to improve things.”
About 156,300 Michigan consumers have subsidized health plans. It’s estimated the loss of the subsidies would cause their rates to spike by 28 percent. The subsidies are already the subject of lawsuits. And there could be more legal action to challenge the presidential order to immediately end the subsidies. The governor also says any fix Congress comes up with should be bipartisan, so it’s not endangered by changing political winds.
Snyder to decide on discipline of MSP Col. Etue this week
Governor Rick Snyder says he’s close to a final decision on what disciplinary action – if any – will be taken against the leader of the Michigan State Police over a controversial Facebook post.
Colonel Kriste Etue is facing a review after she shared a Facebook meme that called NFL players who take a knee during the national anthem “degenerates” and “unpatriotic.” She quickly took down the post and issued an apology. Snyder repeated that Etue will not lose her job over the incident.
“All of us in our lives make mistakes,” he said. “She was sincere in apologizing about it, and I view it as a learning opportunity. So, let’s all learn from it, in addition to the colonel.”
The review focuses on whether Etue violated her department’s social media policy. Since she is in charge of the department, the decision on whether to discipline her goes to the governor.
The Michigan Legislative Black Caucus and the Detroit branch of the NAACP have called for Etue to step down or be removed. Snyder says he plans to keep her on through the end of his administration.
