• State has already expended nearly $28 million in preparation for work requirements implementation and could expend another $40 million if a pause is not granted.
  • House Democrats will introduce a bill this week to permanently remove the work requirements to ensure vulnerable Michiganders have health care access.
  • Nearly 200,000 Michiganders will be impacted by these work requirements and should continue their access to quality affordable health care.

Lansing, Mich., Dec. 3, 2019, — Michigan House Democrats support Governor Whitmer’s request to pause the current Medicaid work requirements and will introduce repeal legislation to permanently eliminate the requirements.

“It is imperative that we continue to efficiently utilize our state’s limited resources and taxpayer dollars,” said House Democratic Leader Christine Greig (D-Farmington Hills). “We support an immediate pause of the work requirements and believe these requirements should be permanently removed.”

As stated in Governor Whitmer’s Special Message earlier today, the state of Michigan has already expended nearly $30 million in preparation for the work requirements implementation and could expend an additional $40 million if a pause is not granted.

This week, House Democrats will introduce a bill to remove the Medicaid work requirements and ensure vulnerable Michiganders have the health care access they need. Medicaid plays an essential role in delivering health care to low-income and single-parent families, people with disabilities, and for many of our seniors. It is an economic lifeline to many rural communities. Good government is about protecting citizens while utilizing state resources in the most efficient way possible. Pausing, and eventually repealing, these requirements is common-sense, good governance.

“Michiganders that rely on Medicaid for the health care they need to keep working, care for themselves, or care for their loved ones already make hard choices to balance their budgets. The work requirements have been proven to be ineffective and place an undue burden on working families,” said bill sponsor state Rep. Jon Hoadley (D-Kalamazoo). “These regressive requirements put the financial security, and ultimately the futures, of some of our most vulnerable Michiganders at risk. If we’re serious about helping more people get healthcare and being responsible stewards of our state’s resources, the only common-sense solution is to repeal these requirements.”

As federal courts considering similar work requirements across our nation have enjoined the cases as they continue through the court system, a pause now — an ultimately a permanent repeal — will ensure approximately 200,000 Michiganders continue to receive access to quality affordable health care.

 

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