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Fighting for
Affordable Health Care
 Even
as we celebrate the two-year anniversary of the MiRx prescription
drug discount card, we are in negotiations with the federal government
to implement the Michigan First Health Care Plan which will, for
the first time, provide access to affordable health care for all
Michigan citizens. We are currently on track to implement the program
in April 2007.
We are acting today to ensure that our citizens have access to affordable
health care while investing in the treatments,  medications,
and technologies that will improve health care tomorrow. It is the
right plan for Michigan citizens and the plan I will continue to
fight for as governor.
We set a goal of putting the MiRx card in the hands of 50,000 Michigan
citizens by the end of this year, and already the MiRx prescription
drug discount card is helping 38,000 Michigan citizens afford their
prescription medications by providing a cost savings of 20 percent
at more than 2,300 pharmacies throughout Michigan.
We are also investing in the companies and research that will help
improve future health care for Michigan citizens. Nearly half the
grants awarded in the first-round of funding from the 21st Century
Jobs Fund went to companies and projects involved in Michigan’s
burgeoning life sciences industry. Grants went to companies like
ProNAI Therapeutics in Kalamazoo and to researchers at Wayne State
University and the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit.
These projects, and dozens of others, are working to improve medical
testing and technology, developing new ways to administer medication
safely, and identifying new treatments for Alzheimer's, arthritis,
and much more. While they create jobs in the short term, all of
these projects are also long-term investments for our health care
industry. To
read more, click here.
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