For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANSPONSOR NEWSDash daily newsletter.
Benefits February 1, 2010
MI Cost-Cutting Moves Include Public Worker Health Care Changes
February 1, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Michigan Governor Jennifer M.
Granholm's agenda to cut inefficiencies and costs in the state government
includes health care changes for public employees and legislators.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
In her latest agenda, announced Friday, Granholm proposes to increase state employee participation in “a new health-care plan that maintains critical benefits for new state workers and their families while reducing the cost to state government by 21 percent.” Granholm says local government, school, university, and other public employees will be given the option to participate in the new health care plan.
In addition, Granholm has proposed eliminating lifetime health care for legislators.
According to the announcement on Granholm’s Web site, the governor also plans to provide “positive and negative incentives to encourage 7,000 eligible state employees and 39,000 eligible public school employees to retire.”
Other proposals in the Michigan Recovery & Reinvestment Plan include, among other things:
- reduce costs by implementing pay-as-you-go budgeting;
- require financial disclosures of all state elected officials and candidates;
- tighten ethics standards for elected officials, appointed officials, and state contract managers;
- audit state contracts annually and review all tax expenditures biennially to identify needed changes and savings; and
- shift to a two-year state budget cycle.
Links to audio of Granholm’s proposal can be found here.