State Rep. Curt VanderWall, chair of the House Health Policy Committee, issued the following statement after the state House passed the Republican Value for MI Dollars Budget on Tuesday:

“I’m committed to making Michigan a healthy place for every resident – especially our most vulnerable – and our budget plan is a step in the right direction. The commonsense steps included in our proposal will ensure Medicaid and food assistance programs like SNAP are available to and sustainable for the people who truly need them.

“Michigan’s SNAP error rate is far too high. But by leveraging a real plan from the department and requiring more secure EBT cards we can ensure public dollars are being funneled toward the vulnerable families and seniors who truly do not have the means to purchase groceries.

“We’re also ensuring able-bodied adults do not take away taxpayer-funded health care dollars from people who are truly unable to afford care by reinstating Medicaid work requirements. Medicaid recipients who are able-bodied should be on a path toward self-sufficiency. We should want that for them and take steps to encourage it.

“We’re also reining in excessive spending on things like unlimited brand-name prescriptions and food delivery services, bringing Medicaid benefits more in line with what is typically offered by private health plans. Simply switching to identical generic prescriptions would save Medicaid more than $125 million per year.

“Senate Democrats were so focused on being first with their plan that they underfunded Medicaid by $500 million. If passed, their plan would take health care away from nearly 60,000 people. It also underfunds childcare by $30 million, hurting working parents that need a safe place for their children while they work to support their families.”