LANSING – The pressure is on for the six-member Senate work group to discuss – and resolve – the debate surrounding Medicaid expansion, but Sen. Roger Kahn, the leader of the work group, said he believes the varying individuals and backgrounds in the group are up to the task.

“In our country, there is an expectation of individual points of view coming together in the voting place, in discussion of bills and … this is no different than that,” Kahn (R-Saginaw Township) said in a Thursday interview. “The issue is more intensely debated, but the process really is the same. Insofar as we believe in this process … we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Other members of the work group include Sen. Bruce Caswell (R-Hillsdale), Sen. John Pappageorge (R-Troy), Sen. Darwin Booher (R-Evart), Sen. Dave Robertson (R-Grand Blanc) and Sen. James Marleau (R-Lake Orion).

Kahn said the plan is to begin with the House-passed bill (HB 4714 ) that the Senate did not vote on before it essentially concluded its session for the summer last week. But, he said, the work group will also be discussing other Senate proposals concurrently. He said the group already had its first phone meeting yesterday and is expecting to meet next week.

“Medicine in the United States is broken. It costs too much, delivers too little and our people are struggling to pay for what they perceive as medicine, with flaws in it,” Kahn said. “We’re looking, as part of this process, to improve access of care and quality of care, but also quality of life.”

And that resolution may not necessarily include Medicaid expansion alone. In fact, another of the talking points the group is likely to discuss is SB 422 , a bill by Caswell that seeks to provide better access to health care for low-income individuals. Instead of expanding Medicaid, it would have the state provide assistance to persons with incomes up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level in purchasing private insurance.

Supporters of expanding Medicaid to those with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level have scoffed at the proposal as an unfunded concept that would accomplish almost nothing compared to Medicaid expansion.

Kahn said that while that is one avenue to consider, the group is still awaiting an analysis on the bill and feedback from the various interests to which the bill pertains. And, all is not lost on the House bill, he said, which could itself see amendments or modifications by the group.

“If there’s some way to marry (Caswell’s) bill together with the House version, I’m willing to consider that,” he said.

But Kahn and the work group members also recognize that this cannot be a drawn out process, either. While Governor Rick Snyder tours parts of the state to call on folks to call Senate Republicans and urge them to take a vote on HB 4714, Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) is asking for “defined progress” on an essentially weekly basis, Kahn said.

Snyder was in Grand Blanc on Thursday to continue pressing his case.

Of the timeline and pressure by the governor to get something done, Kahn said: “I understand the governor’s wishes and the speaker’s wishes,” referring to House Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Marshall), whose chamber held a lengthy session to move the bill after several committee meetings.

But, Kahn continued: “I’m an appointed committee chairman by the majority leader. I work for the Senate and with senators. The majority leader’s timeline is my timeline.”

Though he refrained from committing to July 18 as a deadline for a resolution by the Senate – the Senate has a session scheduled for that date – Kahn said the majority leader has expressed an interest in having things “well on their way” by that point.

“I think this process has a lot of hope in it and there’s some very good people on this work group,” Kahn said. “I look forward to their point of view and their constructive efforts.”

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