Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed off on bipartisan legislation that is aimed at protecting coverage for Healthy Michigan Plan recipients once new work requirements go into effect on January 1.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed off on bipartisan legislation that is aimed at protecting coverage for Healthy Michigan Plan recipients once new work requirements go into effect on January 1.
The governor signed Senate Bill 362 last week in an effort to ensure recipients have enough time to report their work status to the state and avoid losing coverage.
“We know from other states that many people lose health care simply because they struggle to navigate complex and unduly burdensome requirements,” Whitmer said in a statement. “Moreover, while the supposed rationale is to promote employment, the result is a loss of health care coverage, and that itself is an obstacle to employment.”
As CMF reported earlier this month, the New England Journal of Medicine’s (NEJM) research into the effect of the work requirement mandate in Arkansas showed that many Medicaid recipients said they were unaware of the policy or confused about how to report their status to the state. A federal judge halted the program in Arkansas after 18,000 recipients lost their coverage.
The Healthy Michigan Plan, available through the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), provides coverage to more than 680,000 people with incomes at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level.
Earlier this month the state estimated as many as 270,000 Healthy Michigan Plan recipients could be at risk of losing their coverage once the new requirements go into effect.
The newly signed bill in Michigan will:
Increase the amount of time a person can report their work status, expanding it from the 10th day of the month to the last day of the month.
Allow recipients 60 days to verify their work status if they fail to meet the monthly reporting deadline.
Ensure some individuals who qualify for and are receiving other state supports and are in compliance with those requirements will automatically have their work status verified.
“These changes will reduce the number of people who must jump hurdles to provide proof of what they are already doing,” Whitmer said.
The governor highlighted the ongoing work of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) as it continues outreach and messaging to recipients to make them aware of the work requirement and reporting process.
However, Whitmer stated that even with such efforts combined with the legislation, there will be an impact of the new work requirements statewide.
“While SB 362 meaningfully reduces the potential impact, the likely coverage loss under this legislation remains enormous,” Whitmer said.
Michigan is one of 16 states where work requirements are in the works or involved in legal challenges. Indiana is the only state where work requirements are currently being implemented according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
