Healthcare costs are crushing working families and voters like me are paying attention.
A recent poll by United States of Care shows 76% of Americans say a candidate’s position on healthcare costs will affect how they vote. A report from KFF says nearly six in 10 people expect healthcare to become even less affordable next year, and healthcare costs are among voters’ top economic concerns.
I don’t need a poll to tell me that because I am living it. As a hospital worker and member of SEIU Healthcare Michigan, I see and feel it every day.
I see patients who put off care because they’re worried about mounting bills. I see families trying to care for aging parents while struggling to afford food, housing and utilities. I see people rationing medications and delaying treatment because they can’t afford what the healthcare system is charging them.
For many of Michigan’s working families, healthcare isn’t just another issue on the ballot in 2026. It is the issue.
No matter how old you are or where you come from, every human being deserves to be able to provide for themselves and their family. But across Michigan, that’s becoming harder. Wages haven’t kept pace with the rising cost of living, while healthcare costs continue to squeeze household budgets.
Working families are told to sacrifice. Patients are told to pay more. But the corporations that dominate our health care system are doing just fine. Giant health systems, insurers and drug companies continue to consolidate, raise prices and profit behind closed doors. Even high-ranking individuals within the industry now acknowledge that healthcare costs are unsustainable.
And instead of strengthening the system that people depend on, anti-worker politicians in Washington chose to make things even worse by cutting Medicaid and giving billionaires yet another tax break with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The cuts will be felt in Michigan and across the country. The Congressional Budget Office projects the law will reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next decade and lead millions of people to lose coverage. Working families will face new barriers and administrative hurdles that threaten access to care, while rural hospitals and providers already operating on thin margins face additional pressure.
Enough is enough. Michiganians deserve better.
From Washington to Lansing, we need leaders who will make healthcare affordability a top priority. Leaders who will protect, expand and fully fund Medicaid, use our tax dollars to reinvest in the workers who provide care, crack down on monopolies and price gouging, and demand transparency and real consequences for corporations that continue to put profits over people’s lives. Voters overwhelmingly agree.
The debate in 2026 isn’t about whether healthcare is affordable. We’ve already answered that question.
The real question is: which candidates will stand with patients and working families, and which ones will continue siding with corporations that profit from keeping care out of reach?
Our message is simple. If you want our votes, come get them. You can start by clearly demonstrating whose side you’re on.
Larry Schauer is a Master Plumber at Henry Ford Rochester and a member of SEIU Healthcare Michigan.
Labor Voices
Labor Voices columns are written on a rotating basis by United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, Michigan Education Association President Chandra Madafferi, Northern Midwest Regional Council of Carpenters Executive Secretary-Treasurer Tom Lutz and selected Service Employees International Union members.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Healthcare costs are crushing Michigan families; voters are paying attention | Opinion
Reporting by Larry Schauer, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Larry Schauer, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
