Dems say nearly 1M Michiganders could be impacted by proposed cuts to Medicaid 

A new analysis from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) indicates more than 900,000 Michiganders could have their Medicaid benefits cut if plans move forward by the Republican-controlled Congress to potentially slash the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion to help pay for tax cuts and other Trump administration priorities.

The analysis, released Wednesday morning, used data from Medicaid.gov to determine 910,809 Michiganders currently receive health care through the ACA’s Medicaid expansion program. 

Reporting by Politico indicated that among the proposed cuts being considered by the House Budget Committee for possible inclusion in budget reconciliation legislation is eliminating the enhanced matching rate for Medicaid expansion within the ACA from 90% to 57%, largely shifting the funding burden to the states. The McCourt School of Public Policy says that would likely result “in the effective repeal of the Medicaid expansion” by forcing states over time to end their participation.

Report warns potential Medicaid cuts would harm rural patients, communities

“Trump lied to the American people for months on the campaign trail, promising to lower their costs on Day One,” said DNC Executive Director Sam Cornale. “It’s clear from Trump’s first week in office that he’s focused on the bottom line of his billionaire backers, not working Michiganders.”

Cornale said the 910,809 Michiganders who rely on the ACA expansion would see their health care costs skyrocket if Medicaid benefits were gutted “to foot the bill for more tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations.”

Michigan Republican Congressman Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet) is a member of the House Budget Committee.

“Make no mistake, it’s not just Michiganders’ pocketbooks but also their health that’s on the line. If Trump follows through on these threats, Democrats will make sure those Michiganders know exactly who is responsible,” said Cornale.

When asked by the Michigan Advance about the effect of the proposed cuts, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which helps administer the ACA expansion, directed the request to the State Budget Office, which issued a statement from Budget Director Jen Flood.

“Federal funding is critical to protecting the health and safety of all Michiganders — ensuring drinking water is clean and food is safe, keeping people in their homes and the power on, and funding homeland security and emergency management,” said Flood, who noted that nearly $34 billion of Michigan’s current 2025 fiscal year budget, or about 42%, is made up of federal dollars.

“We are currently working across state government to examine how recent federal action to withhold funds appropriated by Congress will impact vital programs like food assistance, Medicaid and Head Start,” said Flood.

Meanwhile, the Georgetown Center for Children and Families released a report earlier this month which found that nearly 37.3% of children in Michigan small towns and rural areas, and about 38.4% in metro areas, rely on Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for health care coverage.

With the proposed GOP cuts also seeking to reduce eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP programs, Amber Bellazaire, senior policy analyst with the Michigan League for Public Policy, told the Advance that the adverse effects would be felt across the entire state.

“Cuts like these would harm Michiganders in every corner of our state — more than 2.6 million people currently have health care coverage through Medicaid or the Healthy Michigan Plan, including children, people with disabilities and older folks with low incomes,” said Bellazaire, who noted that 47%, or nearly half of Michigan kids are insured by Medicaid. 

Bellazaire said cutting Medicaid won’t lower health care costs, but instead shift much of the burden to the state’s budget. That, in turn, would pressure Michigan to find revenue to make up the difference, which would impact all taxpayers.

“Keeping people healthy, which Medicaid aims to do, is essential to making sure our state thrives economically and has strong communities. And cuts would hurt everyone in our state—not just those who use Medicaid,” she said.

Meanwhile, the National Health Law Project points out that the agenda of Project 2025, the authoritarian blueprint disavowed by Trump when confronted with its contents while campaigning for the White House, placed Medicaid and the ACA in its crosshairs. 

“Project 2025 also criticizes federal incentives for states to expand Medicaid coverage, proposing to replace enhanced federal matching funds with a ‘more rational match rate’ (466–467),” stated the group. “Conservatives have historically pursued cuts to federal matching rates to reduce federal funding for Medicaid. Further, it recommends adding ‘flexibility to eliminate obsolete mandatory and optional benefit requirements’ (468). Together, these reforms would likely prompt states to backslide on covering people in optional eligibility categories, including Medicaid expansion.”