Healthy Michigan Plan enrollment eclipses 900,000

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday that there are now more than 900,000 people enrolled in the Healthy Michigan Plan.

Healthy Michigan is that state’s expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It passed in 2014, four years after the ACA was passed by the federal government in 2010. The bipartisan plan was signed into law by Republican former Gov. Rick Snyder. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who served in the Senate at the time, was also a major proponent of the bill.

 

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When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, just under 700,000 people were enrolled in the state’s Medicaid plan. Large unemployment and economic contraction due to the pandemic caused many to have to enroll in the health plan, leading to its use ballooning. The state marked 800,000 enrollees into Healthy Michigan at the end of September.

Governor Whitmer said in statement about the increased usage of the Medicaid plan:

“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health and finances of so many Michigan families underscores the importance of the Healthy Michigan Plan for its 900,000 enrollees. Providing affordable health care coverage to all Michiganders is critical. I am proud of the Healthy Michigan Plan – one that I helped create during my time as Senate Democratic Leader by collaborating with a Republican governor and legislature.”

Michigan recently received additional Medicaid funding from the federal government through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which passed on the last day of 2020.

Last week, President Joe Biden rescinded a work requirement for Medicaid in Michigan. The Great Lakes state was one of 12 states that chose to implement the requirements after the Trump administration allowed for them in 2018. The rules never went into effect and were opposed by Whitmer when she took office in 2018.

The Healthy Michigan Plan is available to any Michigander between 19-64 years old with a single income of 133% of the federal poverty level or less.