Medicaid benefits used to be available mostly to low-income children, pregnant women, and disabled adults in Michigan. But that changed in 2013 when Michigan voted to use federal funds from the Affordable Care Act to extend those benefits to more people. Gov. Rick Snyder was a major force behind the legislation, saying it would mean lower healthcare costs and more federal dollars for Michigan. Healthy Michigan, the state’s expanded Medicaid program, has enrolled nearly 600,000 people to date. But the future of the program depends on the Department of Health and Human Services getting a waiver from the federal government.Changes to Healthy Michigan set to take effect this year could create hurdles for obtaining that waiver.
Current State speaks with state Medicaid director Steve Fitton and State Sen. Jim Marleau, who serves on the Senate’s Health Policy Committee.