(LANSING) — Lansing-area healthcare advocates blasted U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte) in mid-July over his votes on Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies as they announced they submitted enough signatures to place a local healthcare initiative before voters in November. Organizers said Lansing voters submitted 7,385 signatures to the city clerk last week, exceeding the 4,433 required to qualify for the ballot.

The proposals would establish citizen-led Healthcare Action Committees tasked with holding public hearings and developing recommendations to address healthcare costs and access at the local level. The committees would also examine how actions taken by state and federal officials affect residents’ healthcare.

Some folks are skeptical of the group behind the press conference, Community Action Michigan, which is a registered non-profit and state political action committee (PAC). Other than Lansing, they’re active in East Lansing, Kalamazoo, Portage, Benton Harbor and Battle Creek, who have all also sought to adopt this ballot initiative.

Bridge Michigan reported on the group writing that their registration resembles “hallmarks of so-called ‘dark money’ efforts,” though it’s largely centered on unanswered questions regarding their funding, origins and board members.

Jason Cabel Roe, Barrett’s campaign strategist and spokesperson, told MIRS that these organizations are “liberal advocacy groups funded by dark money,” describing the event as political theater.

The group seems to direct attacks toward Barrett and U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Zeeland), which was evident on this day. For example, advocates repeatedly scrutinized Barrett on the morning in question, whose 7th Congressional District includes Lansing and East Lansing, accusing him of supporting federal policies that will reduce Medicaid enrollment and increase insurance premiums and other healthcare expenses.

“When politicians, like the person who is holding our Congress seat currently, vote to cut $1.1 trillion from Medicaid just to give tax breaks to billionaires, they take away healthcare from our neighborhoods,” Oscar Castañeda said.

Castañeda, a regional organizing coordinator for Mi Poder and an Ingham County Health Plan board member, said cuts to federal programs place additional strain on local services originally intended to fill smaller gaps in coverage.

Residents are already being forced to choose between healthcare, housing, medication and other necessities, Castañeda said. He also raised concerns about access to continuous mental healthcare, arguing that untreated medical conditions can ultimately become community crises.

“Our neighbors are paying the price for those decisions that are taken away from our city, away from our community, and we are not even consulted about it,” Castañeda said. “A Healthcare Action Plan is an important step toward identifying what we need here in Lansing today.”

Dana Watson, a former East Lansing council member who was diagnosed with breast cancer, said having insurance did not protect her family from the financial consequences of cancer treatment.

Watson said laboratory bills, copays, deductibles and other expenses eventually resulted in her wages being garnished to pay medical debt.

“When your wages are garnished, they’re allowed to take about a quarter of your income,” Watson said. “This again is a quarter out of my family’s pockets to be able to pay my bills on time, my utility bills, my car bills, my house bills.”

Watson said a locally appointed committee would provide residents with a formal opportunity to share their experiences and recommend changes rather than leaving healthcare discussions solely to elected officials.

Todd Otten, a Lansing family physician and veteran, said he routinely speaks with patients who are deciding whether they can afford medication, food or housing.

He said delaying preventative care often results in patients eventually seeking treatment in emergency departments, where their conditions are more serious and their care is more expensive.

“I can’t tell you the hundreds of times I have had to debate with patients about what care they could get, primarily from a financial driver,” Otten said. “At times, I would spend more time talking about their concerns than dealing with their blood pressure or their diabetes.”

Otten said he was embarrassed that Barrett, a fellow veteran, had contributed to the problem through his votes in Congress.

“A Healthcare Action Plan is an amazing first step toward fixing our broken healthcare system and holding politicians like Tom Barrett accountable for turning their backs on the people they’re supposed to represent,” Otten said.

Organizers claimed monthly premium costs for some residents in Barrett’s district increased from $602 to $2,045, while approximately 31,000 district residents receive coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. They also projected that about 22,000 Medicaid recipients in the district could lose coverage.

On the criticism of Barrett, Roe explained that their claims were misleading. He said that they seemed to be referencing two of his votes, one on ending the temporary COVID subsidies and the other on the work requirements for Medicaid.

“They keep trying to portray this as cutting a program, but that’s not what’s happening during the COVID pandemic,” Roe said. “There were temporary subsidies put in place and when those subsidies expired, Congressman Barrett let them expire as they were designed to do.”

When speaking about the work requirements for Medicaid, he said that they are pretty simple expectations that if someone is going to receive taxpayer funds, then there should be a minimum expectation of things as a beneficiary “to earn and deserve them.”

“I think the very modest work requirements are something that most taxpayers, who are the ones ultimately funding Medicaid and Medicare, should expect and appreciate,” Roe said. “I think it also helps to root out waste, fraud, and abuse within the system. And the reality is, if we do not limit the beneficiaries to those who are truly needing it and deserving it, these programs are going to go bankrupt. We cannot continue to have an open check for taxpayer subsidies for people who are unwilling to work or do anything to improve their situation. We have a nearly $2 trillion deficit and a $40 trillion debt, and at some point, we have to put the brakes on some of this reckless spending to preserve these programs so that they continue to serve the people that rely on them.”

Barbara Hammon, board president of Community Action Michigan, said the local efforts are intended both to identify actions communities can take themselves and to pressure federal officials to address rising healthcare costs.

“With a Healthcare Action Plan, we can address what we can at a local level, work together and demand solutions to bring down healthcare costs,” Hammon said. “Our neighbors are ready to act in November and hold Congressmen Bill Huizenga and Tom Barrett accountable for their failure to fix healthcare. Our families demand a Healthcare Action Plan.”

For Roe, he said the ballot initiatives have “no impact on policy whatsoever,” describing them again as political theater.

“These vehicles and these efforts are really used primarily to do voter identification,” Roe said. “So, as they gather signatures, they are capturing the names and contact information of voters that they think they can persuade on these issues, and so, this is direct advocacy and electioneering. It is not merely advocating for health care.”

This story courtesy of MIRS, a Lansing-based news and information service.