Gov. Whitmer directs billions in IRA funds to lower costs for Michiganders
Parker Wallis, Macomb Digest
With funds from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ready to be dispersed across the state, Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) has signed a new executive directive to allocate those funds and help lower costs and improve quality of life for many Michigan families.
One of these provisions includes reducing prescription drug prices in the state. Thanks to the IRA, out of pocket costs for senior citizens on Medicare will be capped at $2,000 a year, no matter how many prescriptions they fill, and the price of insulin will be capped at $35 a month, according to Whitmer.
“The Inflation Reduction Act will lower the cost of prescription drugs, health care, and energy,” says Gov. Whitmer, “and I am taking action today to ensure that families have the information and resources they need to fully harness its benefits.”
Thanks to IRA funding, state sources estimate that 300,000 Michigan residents will save about $800 per year on health care premium costs, and $500 per year on energy expenses.
Whitmer is also looking to use federal funds to improve Michigan’s economy, specifically “to create good-paying jobs, bring supply chain home, and build on our state’s industrial strengths,” according to a press release from Whitmer’s office.
“With this directive, we will use the IRA to build on our legendary manufacturing heritage, unleash the potential of our people and businesses, and make Michigan even more competitive against other states in the mobility and electrification sectors,” the statement reads.
Gov. Whitmer’s economic plan includes “a $7 billion investment from GM building electric vehicles and batteries and a new facility from high-tech manufacturer SK Siltron bringing the semiconductor supply chain from China to Michigan.”
In the statement, Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II calls the directive a “historic opportunity to move Michigan forward and build on our economic momentum.”
For the past few years, Michigan has been experiencing what Bloomberg calls a “manufacturing boom,” ranked the top state in energy sector job growth, and Gov. Whitmer wants to keep the ball rolling.
Her other economic objectives include “helping Michigan build and retool factories to manufacture electric vehicles, batteries, [and] solar panels,” and she expects the funding to “surge clean energy production, drive down gas prices, reduce reliance on foreign oil, and create millions of jobs,” according to her office.
“These provisions to lower costs and put money in people’s pockets are a great step forward and we will work hard to make sure Michiganders can see and feel the benefits of the IRA,” states Whitmer. “Tough times don’t last, but tough people do, and it is time they got some relief.”
