Medical Billing Blog

Medicaid Expansion in Michigan Starts April 1st

Posted by Scott Shatzman on Fri, Apr, 04, 2014 @ 09:04 AM

The state of Michigan has officially rolled out its Medicaid expansion program. Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, fought his GOP-controlled legislature last summer to push through the expansion. But lawmakers refused to let it take effect earlier than April 1. Eligibility for this year is expected to be around 320,000 people.  Further expansion is expected to cover about 470,000 residents through increasing the income limit for eligibility. Some elements of Michigan's Medicaid expansion program will require CMS approval. Currently, in order to qualify, adults must between the ages of 19 and 64 who are not currently eligible for Medicaid or Medicare, and are making less than 133 percent of the federal poverty line. The current FPL is about $16,000 for a single person and $33,000 for a family of four. The state plan notably includes a provision requiring enrollees after four years to seek exchange coverage or share some of the costs to remain in the Medicaid program. Interest in the Michigan program looks strong early on. By 4 p.m. Tuesday, the state reportedly received almost 12,000 applications for coverage.

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