• Bridge asked Michigan gubernatorial candidates about how they’d tackle the state’s most pressing health care issues 
  • Topics including affordability, Medicaid funding, mental health and aging 
  • The candidates responded directly to questions and concerns raised by Bridge readers

From a strained mental health system to rapidly rising costs, Michigan’s next governor will have no shortage of health care related issues to tackle when they’re sworn into office early next year. 

With just four gubernatorial candidates still left in the running, and days to go until the Aug. 4 primary, Bridge is revisiting an issue – health care – that readers identified as one of their top concerns in Bridge Listens, our effort to identify Michigan’s top challenges this election year.

Candidates hoping to succeed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a term-limited Democrat, are: 

Bridge asked each candidate the same six questions, pushing for them to explain how they’d try to implement their proposals.

Only Johnson declined to provide full answers to Bridge’s questions. After repeated inquiries, his campaign provided a brief statement that did not directly address any of the health care issues raised by Bridge readers.

“I will audit state government with my MEGA Audit and return the money to the taxpayers with my 4747 income tax elimination plan and property tax reform plan,” Johnson said in late April. “This will help with affordability and health care for working families and seniors across our state.”

Click here to read full, unedited responses by the candidates and their campaigns. Or read on to find summaries of their responses.

Cost and affordability

The question: Amid soaring hospital costs and rising drug prices, Michiganders are seeing major increases to their insurance premiums. Plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace have risen more than 20% over the past year. What specific steps would you take, if any, to tackle the rising cost of health care in Michigan?

There was bipartisan agreement among candidates on the need for medical price transparency. 

James and Benson both told Bridge they want to require hospitals or other providers to be up front about the full costs to the patient for a given procedure at the time of care.

Outside of that, candidates split to some extent by party, with Democrats calling for more cost control regulations, and Republicans generally advocating for more competition as a solution to bring prices down.

Related: 

Among the GOP, James said deregulating Michigan’s Certificate of Need process, the state regulatory approval required when new medical facilities are opened or one is sold, could broaden health availability. He also said he would try to take on pharmacy benefit managers, casting them as wasteful middlemen.. 

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2022 signed a law to require the licensure of pharmacy benefit managers as part of a package she said would help lower prescription drug costs. 

As for Democrats, Benson said she would create an independent prescription drug affordability board to “hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for price gouging and identify ways to reduce the overall cost of care.” 

Similar proposals have stalled in the state Legislature, including recent legislation from Senate Democrats that could empower state government to cap prices.

Swanson and Benson both said they would work to expand medical debt forgiveness, where governments buy residents’ medical debt at a fraction of what they owe to lift the financial burden. 

Senate Democrats this year moved to cap interest on medical debt and limit collections. The Republican-led House later took the bills up in committee, but has yet to bring the package to the floor for a final vote.

Social safety net

The question: Michigan has the potential to face a multibillion-dollar Medicaid funding shortfall during your first term, due to changes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 

Would you secure the funding required to maintain coverage or would you seek to reduce coverage? Please explain how.

No candidate told Bridge how they would close a Medicaid shortfall. Whitmer proposed nearly $800 million in new “sin” taxes to address the gap, but lawmakers rejected the idea when finalizing the state budget in early July, opting instead to redirect other funding for now. 

Democratic gubernatorial candidates promised to protect Medicaid despite funding challenges. Swanson said he would use “every lever and resource to ensure Medicaid services continue” for those in need. “As a society we cannot turn our backs on our most vulnerable,” he said. 

Benson said she would push to fund “navigators and community health workers at MDHHS to keep people enrolled” and work with governors in neighboring states to pool resources.

James, a Republican, claimed rising Medicaid costs are at least partly due to fraud. Preliminary data shows Michigan had an improper payment rate of 3.3% in 2025, lower than the national rate of 6.12%. Many of those errors were attributed to insufficient documentation, not confirmed fraud.

James also said he supports an effort to restructure provider taxes, and wants to “explore preventive care pilot models within Medicaid, because addressing chronic illness early is both compassionate and fiscally sound.” 

“A healthier Michigan is a less expensive Michigan,” James added. “That is not a partisan position. It is common sense.”

Access

The question: Health care services outside of Michigan’s population centers are in decline. State officials report 1.7 million Michiganders live in areas with a primary care shortage, and rural hospitals are facing financial challenges. 

What actions would you take, if any, to ensure continued access to health care in rural Michigan?

James, the lone Republican still in the running who responded to Bridge health care questions, said he would work with rural hospitals on targeted reimbursement models to keep those facilities open. 

“Michigan can unlock additional federal funding through this program by strengthening preventative care and chronic illness policies,” he said. “I will work with rural hospitals on targeted reimbursement models to keep those facilities open.”

Benson, a Democrat, told Bridge she would advocate for loan forgiveness and repayment incentives for doctors who work in rural areas, similar to a proposal introduced last year in Lansing that failed to gain traction.

She also said she would also extend a strategy she employed at the Department of State by bringing services directly to constituents and “underserved” communities. 

“Our programs will include partnering with local health care providers to invest in mobile health centers to bring low or no-cost preventative services directly to rural and underserved areas hit hardest by hospital closures and federal funding cuts,” Benson said. 

Fellow Democrat Swanson said he would “ensure Michigan implements an extensive and thorough approval process for any future acquisition or merger.” He also expressed interest in working with the Legislature on legislation to strengthen collective bargaining rights and protections. 

“History provides massive amounts of empirical data showing that when critical services are privatized, residents receive lower quality service, reduced accountability, and ultimately higher costs,” he said. 

Mental health

The question: Michigan’s mental health care system is also severely strained. Experts have cited a shortage in providers, long-term treatment facilities and complex bureaucracy that leads families to struggle to secure treatment for their loved ones. 

How can the state improve the availability of mental health services?

James, a Republican, was the only candidate to mention the opioid crisis in relation to mental health, calling the two issues “inseparable” and promising to “incentivize recruitment and training of mental health professionals.”

Among Democrats, Swanson offered a blanket guarantee of “comprehensive services within the first 72 hours for addiction and mental health concerns,” but didn’t provide further details about how those would be delivered.

“As governor I will support and enact measures that promote early intervention by enhancing coordination between law enforcement agencies, courts, and health care providers,” he added, without going into further detail.

Benson tied education funding into her answers, saying more funding for wraparound services in schools can help head off youth mental health issues before they spiral. She also called for investing in mobile health clinics “to expand access to quality and affordable care” across Michigan. 

Role of government

The question: Government’s role in personal health care decisions has played a central role in policy debates in recent years. Do you think the state should play a greater or lesser role in the provision of health care? Also address whether Michigan should change laws regarding vaccines, abortion or other issues in your response.

Unsurprisingly, candidates were starkly divided along partisan lines on this topic.

Democrats Benson and Swanson said they would promote vaccinations to limit preventable diseases, though neither expressed interest in expanded mandates.

Black maternal health has been a focus for Benson, and she said she’d institute mandatory bias training for health care providers and move to have Medicaid cover doula and midwife services. 

James, meanwhile, said he would move to relax vaccine requirements and enact “vaccine choice,” though he didn’t explain what that meant. He said all school and workplace “vaccine mandates” would be ended under his administration. 

Michigan allows parents to send their unvaccinated children to public school, but the state forces them to jump through some bureaucratic hoops first by applying for a waiver.

Despite pushing to get the government out of parent-child health decisions – James said “restoring full parental consent is my number one health care priority” – he also said he would ban artificial dyes and ultra-processed foods from school meal programs, as well as defend “defending the religious liberty of faith-affiliated health care providers, without apology.” 

“Health care decisions belong to patients, families, and their doctors. Not Lansing,” James said. “That is a principle I will defend every single day as Governor.”

Aging

The question: Michigan is aging faster than most states, leading to more pressure on health care, transportation and social services. There’s a desire to age in place. Additionally, some nursing homes provide quality care, but others are frequently cited for chronic understaffing and neglect. What policies would you implement to improve quality of life for older Michiganders?

Among Democrats, Benson proposed easing the financial burden of caring for a loved one by reviving Whitmer’s proposal to provide a $5,000 tax credit for caregivers.

Benson also said she would “build an effective and accessible counseling center” in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to help guide residents through late-in-life decisions.

“As Michigan’s population ages, we must ensure the people who have called Michigan home for their entire lives have the support they need from family members – and that their families have the resources they need to provide that support,” she added.

Swanson said he’d require “strict staffing ratios” for certified nurses assistants “and other critical care workers,” promising to “put forth a budget that significantly increases caregiver pay,” while calling for “stringent oversight” of elder care facilities.

James, a Republican, said he’d try to clamp down on problematic nursing homes by tightening licensing and training requirements for the industry through executive action.

“I will push for aggressive criminal prosecution of operators credibly suspected of abuse or neglect,” he added.

Bridge Michigan Capitol reporter Simon Schuster contributed to this report.

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