Politics & Government

Capitol Connection

From our State Capitol in Lansing to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, WKAR is committed to explaining how the actions of lawmakers are affecting Michiganders. Political and government reporter Abigail Censky leads this section. There are also stories from Capitol correspondents Cheyna Roth, Rick Pluta and the Associated Press. As the 2020 presidential race begins, look here for reports on the role Michigan will play in electing or re-electing the president.

Gov. Whitmer OKs Medicaid Reporting Changes, Rips Lack of Funding

WKAR Public Media | By Associated Press

Published September 23, 2019 at 11:55 AM EDT

Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) Michigan

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed changes to Michigan's reporting requirements for people who will have to meet work-related requirements to qualify for Medicaid coverage.

But she's accusing the Republican-led Legislature of not allocating $10 million she requested to implement the rules, which will take effect in January.

Whitmer on Monday signed a law exempting some enrollees in the state's Medicaid expansion program — Healthy Michigan — from having to meet monthly reporting rules if the state can verify their compliance with work requirements through other data.

People would have a month to verify their compliance, instead of 10 days under existing law.

The Democratic governor, who opposes the work requirements, says lawmakers should automatically suspend the rules if data in early 2020 show significant numbers of Michiganders will lose coverage.