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• Introduced by Sen. Jim Marleau (R) on September 22, 2011, to create a government health insurance “exchange" (the “MiHealth marketplace”), which would be the state entity through which the federal “Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act” would distribute its subsidies and impose its various restrictions and mandates.
  • Referred to the Senate Health Policy Committee on September 22, 2011.
    • Reported in the Senate on November 10, 2011, with the recommendation that the substitute (S-2) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
  • Substitute offered in the Senate on November 10, 2011, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that revises details but does not change the substance as previously described. In general, the bill's provisions take advantage of narrow opportunitities within the federal health care law to make it less rather than more restrictive on the state insurance market, although it must "perform all duties and obligations of an exchange required by" the federal law. The substitute passed by voice vote in the Senate on November 10, 2011.
• Passed 25 to 12 in the Senate on November 10, 2011, to create as a state entity the "exchange" mandated by the federal "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," the primary purpose of which will be to administer the insurance subsidies provided by that law to households up to 400 percent of poverty level (around $80,000 for a family of four in Michigan). Called the "MIHealth Marketplace," this non-profit agency would create a website on which individuals can select an insurance policy that complies with PPACA mandates, and have eligibility determined for the law's subsidies.

  If the state has not made "measurable progress" toward creating an exchange by the start of 2013, the federal government could choose to create its own version for the state. Among other things, this entity would also determine whether particular individuals are subject to the PPACA's "individual mandate" to purchase insurance. It would not be subject to the state Freedom of Information Act, and its operations would be funded by imposing fees on insurance providers.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"

• Received in the House on November 10, 2011.
  • Referred to the House Health Policy Committee on November 10, 2011.