Michigan state Representative Mark Shauer (Flemming Fellow 2000) believes that elected officials have to be responsible leaders if the public is to have confidence that government will address tough issues. That is why he is Chair of the House Democratic Task Force on the National Tobacco Settlement.
As a second term legislator, Representative Shauer has been holding hearings throughout Michigan asking citizens how they think tobacco settlement dollars should be spent. After hearing testimony, he says the public overwhelmingly supports tobacco settlement dollars be used for health care, which was reported back to Governor Engler. "We must make concerted efforts to invest significant portions of the tobacco settlement in smoking prevention programs as well as
reimbursing our Medicaid system which has been drained of millions of dollars treating smoking-related illnesses."
As Minority Vice-Chair of the Health Policy Committee, Shauer is in position to understand
the health needs of Michigan people. Representative Shauer is also working to make HMO’s accountable and to strengthen the existing patient protection laws.
Besides requiring HMO’s to adhere to an "ordinary care standard," as well as allowing patients who are injured to sue their HMO’s for damages, the bills include the creation of a State Patient Advocate, who would streamline the appeals process. The legislation prohibits the current practice of paying cash incentives to physicians for declining to recommend certain treatments or for prescribing less expensive generic drugs. Shauer says, "This consumer protection package reminds HMOs that insurance decisions should be based upon principles of
good medicine, not short-sighted economics."
