Michigan public health advocates are painting a dark picture for what could happen to health care in the state under federal policy changes. The changes come from the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes cuts to Medicaid spending.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates suggest the law could cause millions to go without health coverage over the next decade.
Dr. Dwight Washington is with the Community Mental Health Authority of Clinton, Eaton and Ingham Counties. He worries that the impact of people losing coverage would be devastating.
“People with mental illnesses who are forced to skip their medications can suffer terrible withdrawals and other negative consequences for themselves and the people around them. They are less likely to be able to take care of themselves to get and keep a job, which makes work requirements under the budget especially cruel and counterproductive,” Washington said during a virtual press conference Wednesday.
The Trump Administration and Republican allies have said OBBBA policies improve health care and add accountability.
“New analysis from the nonpartisan, independent CBO exposes Democrats’ phony claims that vulnerable Americans are being ‘kicked off’ of Medicaid and confirms that the only people coming off of Medicaid under OBBBA reforms are those who are ineligible, illegal, or able-bodied adults refusing to work,” U.S. House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) said in a statement regarding earlier versions of the OBBBA. Still, the Michigan advocates worry changes made in the federal legislation could cause hospitals and nursing homes to close.
Jeff Larsen is with Great Lakes Bay Health Centers, which he said serves all patients regardless of health insurance status. That also creates concerns for the clinic’s longevity with less insurance reimbursement money coming in.
Larsen said the government is better off spending money to help people access routine medical care rather than waiting until they appear in emergency rooms with more serious conditions.
“If we as federally qualified health centers, as safety net providers, could expand and care for more people, the cost of that care would decrease dramatically,” Larsen said.
In response to criticisms over how the OBBBA would affect the availability of health care providers in rural areas, the Trump Administration highlighted provisions like the creation of the new Rural Health Transformation Program.
“Distinct from these other programs, the Rural Health Transformation Program is designed to promote innovation in payment and flexibility. These funds can be used to help these facilities make investments necessary to better meet the needs of the communities they serve and become more sustainable over the long term,” a White House press release from July read.
While advocates have been concerned about potential hits to public health funding at the federal level, Democrats are taking issue with a new state budget proposal passed by the Michigan House of Republicans this week.
The roughly $78.5 billion spending plan would cut what Republicans describe as “waste, fraud, and abuse” from the budget to make room for road funding and tax cuts, among other things.
State Senator Sam Singh (D-East Lansing) said he’s worried proposed multi-billion-dollar cuts to the state health department would hurt the state’s health care system if passed.
Still, Singh says it’s a step forward in the process.
“Now that we have full budgets, unfortunately it’s 56 days beyond the July 1st deadline. But we are here now, and so, now that we have those budgets, I think we can now get into rooms to do some negotiation,” Singh said.
Michigan House Republicans argue their plan gets Michiganders the most bang for their buck while protecting Medicaid spending.
