The U.S. Capitol. Credit: Shutterstock
Two Michigan lawmakers in the U.S. House are reviving an effort to create a new type of health plan aimed at small employers with low-income employees.
The Community Multi-Share Coverage Program bill could create hospital-managed plans that use a combination of cash from the employees, the employer, the hospital and the government, according to the text of a version of the bill introduced in 2022.
A multi-share plan would use a special, local network to provide health care services and social services aimed at workers who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but less than 400% of the poverty level.
The goal would be to help the workers get both health care and other kinds of support services they might need to keep working.
The sponsors are Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., and Rep. John Moolenaar, D-Mich.
The bill is under the jurisdiction of the House Energy & Commerce Committee and the House Education & Workforce Committee.
Huizenga first introduced the bill in 2019.
He based the bill on a model developed by Access Health.
Access Health is a Muskegon, Michigan-based community health coverage organization that was established in 1999. Its version of the multi-share plan provides coverage for about 400 people.
The 2019 and 2022 versions of the multi-share plan bill died in committee.
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