Michigan "Fair Medical Prices" Initiative (2016)
| Michigan Fair Medical Prices Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2016 | |
| Topic Healthcare | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Fair Medical Prices Initiative was not put on the November 8, 2016, ballot in Michigan as an initiated state statute.
The measure would prohibit health care providers from charging a higher price for a medical good or service than others have been charged for the same goods or services.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot summary
The ballot summary was:[1]
| “ | An initiative of legislation to enact the Fair Medical Prices for Consumers Act. This initiated law would prohibit a health provider from charging a person a higher price for medical goods or services than a price charged to other persons for the same or similar medical goods or services by a certain percentage; and to provide for remedies, damages, and penalties.[2] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the measure could be found here.
Support
The campaign leading support for the initiative was Stop Overcharging.
Arguments in favor
Rocky Raczkowski, a former Republican state lawmaker leading the campaign, argued:[3]
| “ | This is truly a citizens' initiative to make sure that we address the discriminatory pricing practices that hospitals charge. It's amazing that in this decade, in this century, where everything else has some type of consumer protection and transparency, we have absolutely none.[2] | ” |
Opposition
Arguments against
John Truscott, spokesperson for the Coalition to Protect Auto No-Fault (CPAN), said:[4]
| “ | CPAN members see this petition drive as nothing more than a cynical ploy by insurance companies to threaten an end run around the legislature that they think will force lawmakers into passing their no-fault decimation bills in the lame duck session -- bills that would severely restrict care to Michigan's most injured people and shift millions of dollars of costs onto taxpayers.[2] | ” |
Path to the ballot
Supporters filed the petition with the secretary of state on October 16, 2014, and was approved by the Board of State Canvassers on October 20, 2014. Supporters needed to gather 252,523 valid signatures for an indirect initiated state statute to make the ballot in Michigan. If the group collected enough signatures, legislators had 40 days to decide whether to approve the amendment or send it to the November 2016 ballot.[4][5]
State profile
| Demographic data for Michigan | ||
|---|---|---|
| Michigan | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 9,917,715 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 56,539 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 79% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 14% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2.7% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.6% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 4.7% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 89.6% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 26.9% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $49,576 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 20% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Michigan. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Michigan
Michigan voted for the Democratic candidate in four out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, 12 are located in Michigan, accounting for 5.83 percent of the total pivot counties.[6]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Michigan had 11 Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 6.08 and 4.00 of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.
More Michigan coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Michigan
- United States congressional delegations from Michigan
- Public policy in Michigan
- Endorsers in Michigan
- Michigan fact checks
- More...
See also
- Michigan 2016 ballot measures
- 2016 ballot measures
- Michigan Legislature
- List of Michigan ballot measures
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Michigan Secretary of State, "Initiative Petition Amendment to the Constitution," accessed November 25, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Fox Business, "Petition drive to limit hospital charges in Michigan gets go-ahead from state election board," October 20, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mlive, "New petition effort seeks to 'Stop Overcharging' for health care, rekindles no-fault discussion," October 21, 2014
- ↑ MI SOS, "STATE OF MICHIGAN STATEWIDE BALLOT PROPOSALS," accessed November 27, 2015
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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