By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network
Lansing, MI – Lansing, MI (MPRN) - State lawmakers say healthcare reform is necessary now more than ever in light of GM and Chrysler bankruptcies. They say more than a million people are uninsured in Michigan, and that number is bound to grow as automakers make cuts. Nearly 9,000 GM employees in the state lost their jobs with the company's bankruptcy.
Democratic state Representative Marc Corriveau says "They're going to look somewhere if they're not getting insurance from their employer base, they got to go get it on their own. So this is the exact reason why this plan was thought out as it was and put in place, because these people need insurance. When we leave them with the decision of paying their house bill or paying for good, they're going to pick those things over healthcare. And we all know that costs us money."
Corriveau unveiled healthcare legislation last month. The bills would create a pool of money, paid for by all insurance companies, to cover anyone who is uninsured and suffers a catastrophic event.
Senate Republicans also have a healthcare coverage plan.