Revised Michigan Medicaid Proposal Would Still Reduce Coverage and Access to Care
The
Not only that, the new bill puts Michigan's entire Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) -- covering 670,000 people -- at risk. That's because
The revised bill makes modest changes to the work requirement. It lowers the number of required work hours from 29 a week to 80 per month; gives enrollees a grace period in which they can fail to meet the work requirement for up to three months of the year and still retain their coverage; removes a rightly criticized provision that would make the requirement less rigid for people in mainly white, rural areas with high unemployment than people in mainly
It also adds a harmful new provision raising premiums on beneficiaries with incomes above the poverty line (about
Up to 54,000 Michiganders would lose their Medicaid coverage under the revised bill, the
Those at particular risk of losing coverage include:
* Working beneficiaries with unstable jobs. The industries that commonly employ Medicaid beneficiaries -- such as health care, restaurant and food services, and construction -- generally have variable hours, above-average levels of involuntary part-time work, and minimal flexibility. This makes it hard for many working people to get the required number of work hours each month to avoid losing coverage.
* We've shown that 46 percent of low-income workers nationwide who could be affected by Medicaid work requirements would fail to meet a 20-hour-per-week requirement at least one month during the year. Even among people working 20 hours a week on average over the course of the year (1,000 hours for the year), 1 in 4 don't work 80 hours every month. Among people working in unstable jobs with volatile hours -- in industries like retail, home health, and construction -- many would fall short of the requirement for multiple months and so would still lose coverage under the revised bill, as would many workers in
* Older Michiganders. As in the previous bill, the work requirement would apply to adults up to age 62 unless they qualified for other exemptions. Older adults face special obstacles to meeting work requirements. In particular, people over age 50 are likelier to have a chronic health condition that makes it hard to maintain steady, full-time employment. (And losing coverage will often exacerbate those conditions.)
* People with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. The work requirements in the revised
* People with incomes above the poverty line. As noted above, the bill would dramatically raise premiums on people above the poverty line. Premiums prevent many low-income people from maintaining coverage, research shows. Roughly 35,000 people would face these higher premiums, the
Coverage losses would occur in all parts of the state. In fact, because the bill's sponsors have removed the work requirement's controversial exemption for mainly white, rural counties with high unemployment, the rigid requirement would now apply to more people. Every Michigan county except one has experienced a drop in its uninsured rate of at least 40 percent since the state expanded Medicaid in 2014, as we've shown, and under the revised bill all parts of the state would experience coverage losses.
These coverage losses will set back
* New state administrative costs.
* Higher uncompensated care costs.
Medicare Is in Jeopardy Due to Cramer-Supported Tax Legislation
80 Mayors Send Letter Opposing Trump’s Domestic Gag Rule
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News