Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer wants to raise the age for purchasing tobacco to 21 and stabilize the rising cost of private health insurance through the creation of a state-run reinsurance program.

With five weeks until Election Day, Whitmer rolled out a health care plan Tuesday that seeks to lower the number of uninsured residents, join a national movement to raise the smoking age and create contrasts with her Republican opponent Bill Schuette ahead of two televised debates later this month.

Whitmer is proposing Michigan start a reinsurance program to stabilize the individual private insurance market by adding a layer of coverage for individuals with higher medical claims.

Wisconsin and at least four other states have created reinsurance programs where the state provides tax dollars to private insurers to cover the claims of individuals with a higher propensity to use medical services.

"If you had this most expensive uber-utilizer covered by reinsurance, I think it would improve our ability to open up expansion to more people," Whitmer said in an interview with Crain's.

The exact cost of the reinsurance program for Michigan taxpayers would depend on the level of coverage approved by federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Whitmer said.

The federal government recently approved Wisconsin's reinsurance plan, which the Badger State is contributing $34 million toward and drawing down $166 million in federal funds, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

"I think there a lot of variables when you talk about how we can do it and what the appetite will be at the feds," Whitmer said. "But we believe it could really infuse a lot of resources into our state and get a lot more people covered."

Nancy Schlichting, the former CEO of Henry Ford Health System, reviewed the plan for Whitmer's campaign. In an interview, Schlichting called Whitmer's overall health care plan "incredibly comprehensive," but questioned whether the reinsurance program could get support from the Legislature.

"I raised a question about whether that's politically going to be feasible right now," Schlichting said.

Whitmer rolled out a 19-page health care plan one day after she was publicly endorsed by four prominent health care industry executives: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan CEO Dan Loepp; Henry Ford Health System CEO Wright Lassiter III and COO Robert Riney; and Phil Hagerman, co-founder of Flint-based Diplomat Pharmacy Inc.

"I'm supporting Gretchen Whitmer because she's a unique candidate for governor running at a critical time for our state's future," Loepp said in a statement. "She's solved critical problems by working to bring people together to forge solutions — like expanding access to health care through Medicaid."

Whitmer's health care plan also calls for paid family sick time; greater transparency in prescription drug price negotiations between hospitals and pharmaceutical industry; an unspecified increase in state spending on mental health programs; and raising the tobacco purchase age from 18 to 21 to be in line with alcohol purchase law.

Six states and more than 350 local governments in 21 states have raised the minimum age for purchasing tobacco to 21 as a means of trying to discourage smoking, which causes one-in-five deaths in the U.S. annually.

"We in Michigan are overweight, we're less healthy than a lot of other states and we smoke more," Whitmer said. "When you look at the statistics, like 95 percent of adult smokers started smoking before they turned 21. We think this is a great way to improve the health of our population, which improves our economy as well."

If elected governor, Whitmer also wants to repeal the Michigan Product Liability Act of 1995, which gives pharmaceutical manufacturers immunity from most lawsuits over faulty or dangerous drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Michigan is the only state in the nation that doesn't let residents sue drugmakers for selling and marketing harmful narcotics.

Schuette co-sponsored the law as a state senator.