Working Together For Michigan Consumers To be Healthy

Facts

  • One in five Michigan residents rely on Medicaid for his/her healthcare–most are children.
  • A majority of Americans recognize the need for Medicaid and support it in polls.
  • Governor Snyder has stated that “every citizen should have access to affordable quality healthcare.” Medicaid is the only such option for many Michigan families.
  • Medicaid benefits the middle class, helping to pay many of the costs associated with disabilities and nursing home care.
  • From June 2001 to June 2010, Michigan’s Medicaid enrollment rose 69 percent, compared to 47 percent nationally. During the decade-long recession, 1.25 million Michigan residents lost their employer-provided insurance, the 2nd highest loss in the nation. Without Medicaid, the number of uninsured in Michigan (1.3 million) would be even higher.
  • Medicaid supports tens of thousands of good health care jobs in every Michigan county and most communities across the state, especially in rural areas.
    • Medicaid cuts eliminate jobs during a severe recession and hurt local economies.
    • Numerous studies show that Medicaid spending boosts states’ economic activity and creates a multiplier effect, generating jobs far beyond the healthcare sector in fields like manufacturing, construction, transportation, and other services.
  • For every $1 Michigan invests in Medicaid, the federal government provides an additional $2, allowing $3 of healthcare services to be purchased. So for every $1 the Legislature cuts from Medicaid, Michigan patients and providers actually lose $3 in essential health care services/funding.
  • Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed by Congress in 2010, an estimated 500,000 of the 1.3 million uninsured will be eligible for Medicaid in 2014, with the federal government covering 100% of that cost in the first two years through new revenues. Thanks to the ACA, more Michigan residents will be insured without increasing the federal deficit.
  • Fewer Michigan physicians are accepting Medicaid patients because the state has cut reimbursement rates over the past decade. The result: many Medicaid patients must turn to emergency rooms for treatment–the most expensive place for healthcare services. This drives up healthcare costs for all the insured and increases taxpayer costs.
  • The ACA will increase Medicaid reimbursement rates, starting in 2013, so that more physicians will be available to treat Medicaid-covered patients. The ACA will also increase the number of primary care physicians through scholarships, loan forgiveness, and other programs.
  • Federal law requires states to maintain eligibility for their Medicaid programs (known as “Maintenance of Effort”) in order to prepare for expansion in 2014 as part of healthcare reform. Medicaid payment or services reductions in 2013 will weaken the program structure, rather than strengthen in preparation for the significant increase in 2014.
  • Michigan’s Medicaid program helps train badly needed primary care physicians throughout the state with funds from the Graduate Medical Education (GME) program. Cutting Medicaid GME training funds means many Michigan medical school graduates leave the state for training and don’t return to practice. The cost? All Michigan residents have less access to primary care and other physicians today and in the future.

Learn More

Understanding Medicaid Report on Medicaid in Michigan by Jan Hudson

50 Reasons Medicaid Expansion is good for Michigan
The Medicaid program is doing its job—providing health care benefits and services to those who qualify, and doing it efficiently. Yet the program is under attack at the federal level and struggles (as do other key public services) to secure needed investment at the state level. While the program is considered “out of control” by some, its misunderstood growth stems from the lack of affordable health care coverage and medical services for low-income children and families, elderly and persons with disabilities, NOT out-of-control spending. It is critical that policymakers, at the state and federal levels, understand the importance and impact of this program to both current enrollees and those promised coverage in 2014 through the Affordable Care Act, as federal deficit reduction policies are debated. Dramatic cuts or changes to the Medicaid program would be devastating not only to the people it serves, but also the providers who serve Medicaid recipients, and therefore, to Michigan’s economy.

Medicaid’s Role for Women across the lifespan: Current issues and the impact of the affordable care act
Medicaid, a jointly financed state-federal health coverage program for the poor and low-income, provided over 21 million low-income women with basic health and long-term care coverage in 2008. For these women, Medicaid covered a wide range of health services that address health needs throughout their lifespan, including reproductive health care, care for chronic conditions and disabilities, and long-term services. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will further broaden the reach of Medicaid coverage, as the program will be the major vehicle for expanding health coverage to the low-income uninsured population. The ACA has also authorized a number of changes to Medicaid that will affect access to care for women enrolled in the program. This brief discusses the current state of the program as it affects women and also examines the major changes from the ACA and the impact on women.