LANSING — State Rep. Patrick Green (D-Warren) recently introduced House Bill 6146 requiring the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to identify and report to legislative leadership the 50 employers in Michigan that have the highest number of employees who receive Medicaid.
“Michiganders work hard, and they deserve strong wages that support a family and provide for a secure retirement,” said Rep. Green. “Taxpayers have a right to know when a company isn’t upholding that bargain and instead is forcing taxpayers to pick up the slack for their low wages or lack of benefits.”
Green’s bill would require the top 50 employers with the most employees on Medicaid to report their numbers annually to legislative leadership. The data obtained will include the number of employees on Medicaid, as well as the corresponding cost to the state. The information regarding which corporations are forcing their employees onto public health assistance can provide better context for legislators when analyzing the economic impacts of corporate tax breaks and the sources of underemployment and poverty in Michigan.
“No one who works hard should have to struggle to get by, yet eight years of failed leadership in this state has allowed corporations to get away with shortchanging their employees — while many of these same companies reap millions in tax credits from the state,” said Rep. Green. “That means everyday Michiganders are paying twice over for their bad work practices. The information of who is doing this, and how they’ve gotten away with it for so long, is something the public deserves to know.”