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MLIVE: Rising health care premiums a concern as Whitmer, Dingell visit hospital near Ann Arbor

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer met with Ann Arbor-area hospital leaders and doctors Friday to discuss concerns about rising health care costs and cuts to federal health care spending.

A top concern: Americans have begun receiving their premiums for next year and many are seeing sharp increases, in some cases doubling, officials said.

Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, said she stopped to talk with a patient on the way into Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital ahead of the Nov. 7 roundtable discussion there.

“They didn’t know whether they were going to be able to keep coming because they had gotten their premium and they weren’t going to be able to afford it, and they’re not going to stay on the exchange,” she said. “So, what were they going to do?”

Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits are set to expire at the end of December.

Not everybody understands what’s happening and people are “really getting hit with premiums that they had no idea,” Dingell said. She knows a couple — both of them 60 years old — whose combined annual income is $82,000, she said.

“And their premium is going up $164% — $11,250,” she said. “I had another constituent tell me that their new monthly premium is more than their mortgage payment.”

A husband and wife who own a small business are about to have a new baby, but they’re can only afford coverage for the mother and the baby, not the father, Dingell said.

It’s disturbing, Dingell said, criticizing President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which was signed into law in July.

According to the American Medical Association, significant funding cuts and policy changes to Medicaid and other programs under the law will worsen patient access to care.

There already are hospitals in danger of closing in Michigan and OB/GYN services being dropped, Dingell and Whitmer said.

“We’re fighting for health care, because I’m somebody who believes if you’re sick, you should be able to go to the doctor and get the medicine and the treatment that you need,” Dingell said.

Whitmer thanked Dingell for what she’s trying to do in Congress, saying America is at a really scary inflection point.

“I know it’s lonely and challenging right now, but I’m glad that you’re fighting for us,” the governor said.

Washington, D.C., seems far away from people’s everyday lives, but what’s happening or not happening there at the moment is a huge threat to communities and to health care providers and recipients, Whitmer said.

“Every one of us will get hurt without quick action in Washington, D.C.,” she said.

About 72% of Trinity Health Michigan patients are on Medicare or Medicaid, President and CEO Shannon Striebich said. The estimated impacts of changes in Medicaid are in excess of $400 million just for her organization, she said, but the need for services doesn’t go away and people still need care.

“This is not good for communities, period,” she said, saying her organization is now contemplating some really hard decisions to remain viable.

In response to federal cuts to Medicaid services, Whitmer signed legislation preserving state Medicaid, protecting funding for core Medicaid services, officials noted. The governor also noted she signed an executive directive earlier this year to look at the impacts of federal Medicaid cuts on Michigan residents.

“We found that it will terminate care for half a million people in our state,” she said. “It’ll make getting care for all of us less convenient and more expensive.”

The cuts disproportionately affect the poor, the sick, veterans, children and older Michiganders, Whitmer said.

“But every one of us hurts when a hospital closes, a community loses their largest employer,” she said.

Medical professionals who shared their insights with the politicians during Friday’s roundtable expressed a range of concerns and described it as a challenging time. They said the expansion of Medicaid several years ago allowed more people to get plugged into ongoing and preventative care and they’re worried about the consequences of rolling back progress.

Dingell said she was told there were 29 people waiting to be admitted to Trinity Health Ann Arbor on Friday and that was a good day. One doctor said even he has to wait in line until January to get an MRI scan for his own shoulder injury.

“We’ve got a problem,” Dingell said. “And at some point, we need to say you’ve got to do something. We can’t just ignore the people on our community who need help.”

Trinity Health Ann Arbor President Alonzo Lewis noted the 560-bed hospital, previously known as St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, has served the area 114 years. Since 1977, it has been located in Superior Township just outside Ann Arbor.

Later this month, it plans to open an emergency shelter on its campus, making 30 rooms available during the coldest months of the year, Lewis said, describing ways it’s evolving.

Friday’s roundtable took place in the hospital’s indoor serenity garden, which Lewis described as a place of healing and restoration for patients.