It reforms the inefficient, disjointed way that Michigan provides health care for more than 400,000 public employees, which will save up to $900 million a year, protect jobs and help ensure access to quality health care.

The plan is based on these simple principles:

• Administration and delivery of health care for state and other public employees should be done with maximum efficiency and cost savings.
• Public employees – from the local school bus driver to the Governor – should be able to choose from the same health care plans.
• Health care benefits provided in Michigan's public sector should be similar to those in the private sector and in other states' public realm, both in cost and quality, while preserving collective bargaining.
• State health care plans should follow "best medical practices" – standards that will protect patient safety and reduce unnecessary treatment. These practices include the right to get a second opinion.

Right now, Michigan's state, school and other public employees participate in hundreds of different health care plans offered not just by the state, but by 83 counties, more than 630 cities and 1,250 townships, 839 school districts and numerous other units of government. Each of these plans can vary widely in cost and quality – and each charges its own administrative fees and consumes countless hours of negotiating time.

Plus, studies show that Michigan's public sector employees and retirees generally receive health care benefits that are more generous and more expensive than their counterparts in other states and in Michigan's private sector.

These inefficiencies and disparities cost Michigan taxpayers nearly $1 billion a year – money that could be used to keep more police in neighborhoods and teachers in classrooms.

As unemployment rises, foreclosures grip our communities and we hit another year of deficits, we have to accept that what we're doing isn't working. We have to change. We must make structural reforms to create a state that can compete in the 21st century and be a place where people want to live, work and play.

While details are still being worked out with input from groups that will be affected, here's the general idea:

The administration and delivery of health care for the state's more than 400,000 public employees – currently handled by hundreds of benefit plans – would be consolidated under the umbrella of the Office of the State Employer.

State officials would negotiate the health care plans with the public sector unions and bid them out to the private sector.

Public employees would be able to choose from the same health care plans.

Overhauling this broken system will ultimately save taxpayers an estimated $900 million a year, a number based on extensive research. The savings will come in three areas:

• Consolidating the health care plans in the Office of the State Employer will cut administrative costs, resulting in a net savings of $65 million to $75 million. 
• Representing such a large pool of customers will allow the state to negotiate the most cost-effective health care plans and purchase prescription drugs at lower cost, saving $100 million to $200 million a year.
• Standardizing the health care plans available to public sector employees, encouraging wellness and preventive care, and aligning benefits more closely with those offered to public employees in other states and in the private sector, employees will save an estimated $400 million to $600 million a year.

Our estimates and conclusions are based on multiple non-partisan and government sources, including The Center for Michigan, the House Fiscal Agency, the Legislative Commission on Government Efficiency, the Michigan Legislative Commission on Government Efficiency, and public records.

No. This is a pro-worker reform. Contracts that are in place now will be honored, and collective bargaining will have a role in the new system as well.

You are correct; the MI health Benefits Program is intended to streamline and centralize the administration of benefits, achieving significant cost savings through uniform administration of health care benefits.  

With over 800,000 members, the consolidated state plans will constitute the largest health care pool in the state of Michigan, and it is expected that most medical providers will want to participate. Every physician, hospital and other medical providers will have the opportunity to participate in the state's health care plans.

Yes. Residents and businesses will have the option of participating in the state health care plans, driving down the costs of health care in the private sector and making it more affordable and accessible.

And by cutting health care costs for the state, this reform will help ensure that Michigan can continue to provide benefits for hundreds of thousands of employees and their families.

Yes.  All public employees including legislators, the governor, and their respective staff and employees would be covered.