Eastern Michigan University students had the opportunity Oct. 10 to hear people speak on Proposal 4. The purpose of the proposal is to create a registry that will link seniors and people with disabilities with pre-screened, certified and trained home healthcare workers, as well as provide financial services to patients to manage the cost of in-home care.
Proposal 4 advocates for seniors and people with disabilities to have the right to choose to receive healthcare in their home instead of at a nursing home.
“We must allow home care to remain a viable choice for persons with disabilities and seniors so they can remain safe and independent in their own homes,” said the website for Keep Homecare Safe, a coalition of senior and disability rights groups across Michigan, which supports Proposal 4.
However, some people oppose Proposal 4. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, for example, spoke out against the proposal when he said, “Improving healthcare in Michigan is important, and I’m taking steps in partnership with the legislature, healthcare providers and insurers to improve wellness in Michigan. Proposal 4, though, is not the right way to improve healthcare and will be bad medicine for the people of Michigan.”
Proposal 4 supporters argue the proposal saves taxpayers millions of dollars. For those people who have Medicaid it’s cheaper for taxpayers to pay in-home healthcare than nursing home fees.
Those who are against Proposal 4 argue it is more about a union than the registry.
“This is the most cynical, the most deceptive … of all the ballot proposals. It’s just a joke.” Matt Resch, a Lansing-based strategist with the business coalition opposed to several pro-union measures on the ballot, said in an Oct. 14 Detroit Free Press article.
