* Debbie Stabenow, Senior Policy Advisor for Liberty Partners Group, Former U.S. Senator (D) Lansing
October 20, 2025 • 8 mins
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Senator, government piscis the party. Senator, Senator, we're both part
of the same hypocracy. I have my own family.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Senator, you can have my answer, and I don't feel
like my offer is this nothing. Debbie Stabanaw was the
first woman elected to the United States Senate from Michigan
and a healthcare leader in Congress for three decades since.
She now serves as a senior policy advisor for the
Liberty Partners Group. And she has put pen to paper
(00:40):
and we're going to have a look at it in
just a minute. Here. Business leaders from Michigan is united
by an ambition. Well, they have an ambitious goal to
make Michigan a top ten state for jobs and talent
and a thriving economy. You're listening to Michael Patrick Shields.
If you were to read the words of Debbie Stabanaw,
you would see that the value of home health care
(01:01):
powerfully clear, dedicated teams delivering high quality clinical services so
that patients can retain dignity and live independently. She's worried
that this benefit is in danger of being cut, and
she's written about it, and she's talking about it with
us right now. Welcome back to the airwaves.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Well, Michael Patrick, how are you. It's wonderful to be
back with you, particularly talking about, you know, something I
care so much about. Even though I retired from the
Senate in December, I wanted to stay involved in healthcare.
So I'm just doing what I can to address what
(01:41):
obviously is a very big deal for all of us.
And I have to say, you know, my mom at
ninety eight a year ago, passed away, God bless her,
and home health and hospice were absolutely critical. And I
know every family has a story to tell or a
friend or family member that has a story to tell
(02:01):
about the importance of home health. So they're now suggesting
for next year the largest cut in medicare home health
ever and it doesn't make any sense.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Well, you're not the type of person that runs to
a microphone and a camera, so when you speak, it's
important to you why is that cut coming and what
can be done about it?
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Well, first of all, there's a range of cuts, as
you know, being proposed or that are actually starting to
happen on healthcare that are very concerning to me. People
who in Michigan vibe insurance off of the marketplace exchanges
are going to see their costs go up others on
Medicaid and so on. In the area of home health,
(02:47):
there is just a continuing effort and this is predominantly
in this administration, but has happened before in others where
they feel somehow that they can cut rates on home
health care and it won't affect other parts of health care,
you know, and we know that that home health is
(03:08):
the least expensive way to get care, and you don't
save me money when you cut that. So I wrote
this because there is actually an opportunity now to save
money the right way, and I am urging this administration
to do that. Out in La the other side of
the country, there's this big fraud effort that they have tackled.
(03:30):
State and federal folks doing a good job around this
ring basically of criminals that are putting in false claims
for hospice and home health and so on and builking
billions of dollars out of the system. And they're actually
taking them on, which is a great thing, but they
should be doing more of that, and they could save
(03:52):
more money by taking on fraud in the system than
by going after the good folks, you know, like visiting nurses,
and the you know, the folks that do home health care.
So what I'm doing is speaking out in saying, look,
you got an example in Los Angeles where there's a fraud. Okay,
focus on that, focus on other areas, but don't cut
(04:14):
what is one of the most important pieces of health
care for families and individuals that actually saves money. You know,
you don't spend more money if somebody's at home. You're
spending less money if somebody's at home. And so I'm
trying to get them to rethink how they look at
all this.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Your mother must have been very, very proud of you.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Well, she was amazing. She was my number one role model,
and she was a nurse, you know, Michael Patrika. I
actually got interested in healthcare because mom was director of
nursing in Claire, small rural hospital where I grew up.
Grew up around the hospital, and I was always in
awe of the doctors and the nurses and everybody, and
(04:59):
you know how much they cared about people. And that
really was what drew me into healthcare. And I ended
up on the policy side, you know, not a provider,
but I don't care if it's mental health, healthcare above
the neck or healthcare below the neck. You know, this
is something that everybody cares about. Everybody wants to make
(05:20):
sure they can afford and have quality care. And it
takes a it takes you know, it takes a community
to do that. You can't do that by yourself. There
has to be systems that make sense.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
I saw a video this weekend of Senator McConnell falling
down when he was walking through the capital. We saw
Joe Biden, the president, sort of have very serious issues
now and even when he was in the White House,
and we have very advanced members of Congress like Bernie
Sanders and such. You decided not to stay long past,
(05:57):
you know, toward the end. Does it We see those
examples of people that maybe are you know, staying too long?
Speaker 1 (06:07):
You know, it does. I mean, everybody has to make
their own choice. But I always wanted to serve, and
I've loved being in the center. I love being in
public service in Michigan, and I as you know, I mean,
through this, you can still be bad. I could still
be there. I also am still using my voice, so
even though I've retired, I'm still using my voice. But
(06:30):
I do think that unfortunately this system creates incentives that
are not always in the best interest because the longer
you're there, the more seniority you get, the more you
have an opportunity to chair a committee or be in
leadership and so and so when you finally get there,
you know, when you finally get to where you want
(06:52):
to be, you're usually a lot older than when you started.
And so from my perspective, it's really important to bring
in new energy, new ideas. I'm so proud of my
successor as Senator of Zlatkin, who's doing such a great job.
We need that. And it doesn't mean I couldn't have
(07:13):
done it. I could have, but I think it's important.
I think change new opportunities. You know, plus you people
that are interested to deserve an opportunity, well, thank.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
You for the opportunity to speak with you. We treasure
it and it's great to hear the voice of Senator
w st. When it comes to healthcare costs, we often
focus on one thing, our insurance premiums. But what if
we're only seeing part of the picture. The truth is
our health insurance costs reside downstream at the end of
the cost equation. But to really understand what's driving up costs.
(07:45):
We need to look upstream to the healthcare system itself. Upstream,
there are costs like the price is charged by hospitals
and doctors, and the cost of prescription drugs, healthcare administration,
and technology. These costs flow downstream directly into your health
insurance premium. That's why Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
(08:05):
is advocating for a system wide solution to address the
rising cost of healthcare. Blue Cross knows that healthcare is personal,
needs to work for everyone, and affordability matters, and that
starts with shedding light on the entire cost equation from
upstream costs to downstream premiums. Want to learn more, visitmibluedaily
(08:26):
dot com slash affordability
Senator, government piscis the party. Senator, Senator, we're both part
of the same hypocracy. I have my own family.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Senator, you can have my answer, and I don't feel
like my offer is this nothing. Debbie Stabanaw was the
first woman elected to the United States Senate from Michigan
and a healthcare leader in Congress for three decades since.
She now serves as a senior policy advisor for the
Liberty Partners Group. And she has put pen to paper
(00:40):
and we're going to have a look at it in
just a minute. Here. Business leaders from Michigan is united
by an ambition. Well, they have an ambitious goal to
make Michigan a top ten state for jobs and talent
and a thriving economy. You're listening to Michael Patrick Shields.
If you were to read the words of Debbie Stabanaw,
you would see that the value of home health care
(01:01):
powerfully clear, dedicated teams delivering high quality clinical services so
that patients can retain dignity and live independently. She's worried
that this benefit is in danger of being cut, and
she's written about it, and she's talking about it with
us right now. Welcome back to the airwaves.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Well, Michael Patrick, how are you. It's wonderful to be
back with you, particularly talking about, you know, something I
care so much about. Even though I retired from the
Senate in December, I wanted to stay involved in healthcare.
So I'm just doing what I can to address what
(01:41):
obviously is a very big deal for all of us.
And I have to say, you know, my mom at
ninety eight a year ago, passed away, God bless her,
and home health and hospice were absolutely critical. And I
know every family has a story to tell or a
friend or family member that has a story to tell
(02:01):
about the importance of home health. So they're now suggesting
for next year the largest cut in medicare home health
ever and it doesn't make any sense.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Well, you're not the type of person that runs to
a microphone and a camera, so when you speak, it's
important to you why is that cut coming and what
can be done about it?
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Well, first of all, there's a range of cuts, as
you know, being proposed or that are actually starting to
happen on healthcare that are very concerning to me. People
who in Michigan vibe insurance off of the marketplace exchanges
are going to see their costs go up others on
Medicaid and so on. In the area of home health,
(02:47):
there is just a continuing effort and this is predominantly
in this administration, but has happened before in others where
they feel somehow that they can cut rates on home
health care and it won't affect other parts of health care,
you know, and we know that that home health is
(03:08):
the least expensive way to get care, and you don't
save me money when you cut that. So I wrote
this because there is actually an opportunity now to save
money the right way, and I am urging this administration
to do that. Out in La the other side of
the country, there's this big fraud effort that they have tackled.
(03:30):
State and federal folks doing a good job around this
ring basically of criminals that are putting in false claims
for hospice and home health and so on and builking
billions of dollars out of the system. And they're actually
taking them on, which is a great thing, but they
should be doing more of that, and they could save
(03:52):
more money by taking on fraud in the system than
by going after the good folks, you know, like visiting nurses,
and the you know, the folks that do home health care.
So what I'm doing is speaking out in saying, look,
you got an example in Los Angeles where there's a fraud. Okay,
focus on that, focus on other areas, but don't cut
(04:14):
what is one of the most important pieces of health
care for families and individuals that actually saves money. You know,
you don't spend more money if somebody's at home. You're
spending less money if somebody's at home. And so I'm
trying to get them to rethink how they look at
all this.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Your mother must have been very, very proud of you.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Well, she was amazing. She was my number one role model,
and she was a nurse, you know, Michael Patrika. I
actually got interested in healthcare because mom was director of
nursing in Claire, small rural hospital where I grew up.
Grew up around the hospital, and I was always in
awe of the doctors and the nurses and everybody, and
(04:59):
you know how much they cared about people. And that
really was what drew me into healthcare. And I ended
up on the policy side, you know, not a provider,
but I don't care if it's mental health, healthcare above
the neck or healthcare below the neck. You know, this
is something that everybody cares about. Everybody wants to make
(05:20):
sure they can afford and have quality care. And it
takes a it takes you know, it takes a community
to do that. You can't do that by yourself. There
has to be systems that make sense.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
I saw a video this weekend of Senator McConnell falling
down when he was walking through the capital. We saw
Joe Biden, the president, sort of have very serious issues
now and even when he was in the White House,
and we have very advanced members of Congress like Bernie
Sanders and such. You decided not to stay long past,
(05:57):
you know, toward the end. Does it We see those
examples of people that maybe are you know, staying too long?
Speaker 1 (06:07):
You know, it does. I mean, everybody has to make
their own choice. But I always wanted to serve, and
I've loved being in the center. I love being in
public service in Michigan, and I as you know, I mean,
through this, you can still be bad. I could still
be there. I also am still using my voice, so
even though I've retired, I'm still using my voice. But
(06:30):
I do think that unfortunately this system creates incentives that
are not always in the best interest because the longer
you're there, the more seniority you get, the more you
have an opportunity to chair a committee or be in
leadership and so and so when you finally get there,
you know, when you finally get to where you want
(06:52):
to be, you're usually a lot older than when you started.
And so from my perspective, it's really important to bring
in new energy, new ideas. I'm so proud of my
successor as Senator of Zlatkin, who's doing such a great job.
We need that. And it doesn't mean I couldn't have
(07:13):
done it. I could have, but I think it's important.
I think change new opportunities. You know, plus you people
that are interested to deserve an opportunity, well, thank.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
You for the opportunity to speak with you. We treasure
it and it's great to hear the voice of Senator
w st. When it comes to healthcare costs, we often
focus on one thing, our insurance premiums. But what if
we're only seeing part of the picture. The truth is
our health insurance costs reside downstream at the end of
the cost equation. But to really understand what's driving up costs.
(07:45):
We need to look upstream to the healthcare system itself. Upstream,
there are costs like the price is charged by hospitals
and doctors, and the cost of prescription drugs, healthcare administration,
and technology. These costs flow downstream directly into your health
insurance premium. That's why Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
(08:05):
is advocating for a system wide solution to address the
rising cost of healthcare. Blue Cross knows that healthcare is personal,
needs to work for everyone, and affordability matters, and that
starts with shedding light on the entire cost equation from
upstream costs to downstream premiums. Want to learn more, visitmibluedaily
(08:26):
dot com slash affordability
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