Health Care & Prescription Drugs News

As Passage of Health Bill Nears, New Estimates of Michigan Job Gains From Lower Premiums

ANN ARBOR – As Congress and the White House are locked in the final negotiations over the health care reform bill, a new analysis from the consumer group Public Interest Research Group in Michigan (PIRGIM) finds that the legislation will mean between 8,300 and 13,300 more jobs in Michigan.  With job losses now the central economic issue confronting America, the analysis shows that the health care cost savings the bill will achieve will help businesses add new employees. 

“For years, rising costs have made hiring new employees more expensive than it should be, choking employment growth,” said PIRGIM Advocate Kara Rumsey. “By holding down health care costs, health reform will mean a brighter future for job creation in Michigan and across the country.”

PIRGIM’s projections are based on a January report from the Center for American Progress which found that reform could add between 250,000 and 400,000 jobs nationwide every year.  PIRGIM’s analysis broke down those gains state by state, based on each state’s share of private national health expenditures.

“We’ve got to put Michiganders back to work,” said Rumsey.  “Michigan’s Congressional representatives need to know that a vote for health reform is a vote for jobs.”

#   #   #

The Public Interest Research Group in Michigan (PIRGIM) is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization. For more information, visit http://www.pirgim.org.