Michigan Advance: Whitmer directs DHHS to prepare report detailing how federal Medicaid cuts would impact Michigan

As Republicans in Congress continue to eye cuts to critical programs like Medicaid in an effort to extend President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, several Michigan Democrats joined Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in Royal Oak Thursday, as she signed an executive directive instructing the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to prepare a report detailing how Medicaid cuts would impact the state. 

Gathering at Corewell Health’s William Beaumont University Hospital, U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor), Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) warned that cutting funding to Medicaid could threaten access to care for some of the state’s most vulnerable residents, including children, seniors and people with disabilities. 

Dan Carey, the hospital’s president, noted that nearly 50% of all Michigan children and six out of 10 elderly adults rely on Medicaid for their health care. If these cuts pass, Carey questioned what would happen to those children, Michigan communities and the workers who care for those children. 

With the U.S. House’s budget resolution directing the House Energy and Commerce Committee to reduce the federal deficit by at least $880 billion over 10 years, Dingell, who serves on the committee, said there is no way to meet that goal without drastic cuts to Medicaid. 

“Medicaid is already a lean program. With few options for how to fill the budget hole left by cuts to Medicaid funding, states will be forced to consider cuts to coverage and benefits, leaving more people uninsured and under insured,” Dingell said.

During a presentation to the Michigan Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of Health and Human Services in March, DHHS officials noted Michigan Medicaid makes up 34% of the state’s total budget, with 70% of funding for the state’s Medicaid program coming from the federal government.

“Any cut will place an enormous financial burden on parents, older adults, people with disabilities and their families, and especially those who have already spent down their assets and resources to qualify for Medicaid,” Dingell said. “Americans would have to forgo much needed care entirely, or their family members would be forced to choose between covering their children’s expenses, saving for their own retirement, or even being able to help their loved one.”

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However, there is some hope Dingell said, noting that several Republicans have publicly opposed cuts to Medicaid. 

Stevens reflected on Whitmer’s efforts serving as the state Senate minority leader, working to craft the Healthy Michigan program, a bipartisan expansion to Medicaid signed into law by then Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican. 

As Michigan hosts some of the lowest rates of uninsured individuals in the nation, it’s strange and upsetting that hosting the press conference was even necessary, Stevens said, noting that these concerns come five years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I think that we can recognize the seriousness of what this moment represents, that people deserve better, that they deserve stability and consistency and access to medical benefits,” Stevens said. 

Tlaib emphasized that these cuts are not just numbers, and that every percentage cut was the life of a Michigan neighbor.

She also pointed to the ongoing crisis in Black maternal health, with the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women being nearly 3.5 times the rate for non-Hispanic white women. She further noted that more than 40% of births in the U.S. are paid for by Medicaid.

“Seventy-two million people across every corner of our country rely on Medicaid. I don’t think one congressional district in our nation is not impacted. For families and seniors and people with disabilities, Medicaid is the difference between survival and suffering,” Tlaib said.

Prior to signing her directive, Whitmer said Medicaid has allowed breast cancer survivors to receive their annual mammogram and ensured more families can receive regular dental care, visit a primary care physician, and ensure their child receives emergency care rather than keeping them home due to concerns about the hospital bill.

“In short, Medicaid saves lives, it lowers costs and ensures that we have a health system that can meet all of our needs, no matter where we get our health care from,” she said. 

Cuts to Medicaid would also hit small towns and rural communities hard, Whitmer said, with 37% of Michiganders in these areas receiving Medicaid coverage. 

The harm would also extend beyond individuals receiving Medicaid coverage Whitmer said, with Michigan hospitals set to lose out on half a billion in Medicaid funding annually.

“The equation is simple, fewer jobs equal weaker economies and a less healthy Michigan. Hospitals in local and rural communities across Michigan will close, which threatens care for everyone, raises prices for everyone. It forces people to drive further for health care, even in emergency situations,” Whitmer said.

“Everyone agrees that there’s always more that can be found in terms of rooting out waste or fraud. But this is not about that. This is massive, devastating slashes to core government service. This won’t make government more efficient, it’ll just raise your costs, eliminate local jobs and put lives in danger,” Whitmer said. 

By examining the impact of Medicaid cuts on the state, Michiganders can see the cost of what Republicans are hoping to accomplish in Washington, Whitmer said. 

“We’re going to send a clear message to anyone trying to trade your health and someone else’s tax cut. Medicaid is not for sale. I’ll keep fighting over the cost of health care and support access to our critical programs like Medicaid, because if you’re sick in Michigan, it shouldn’t mean going broke,” Whitmer said before signing the directive.

“Let’s all double down on our efforts to make sure that Congress and our Republican legislators in particular hear us loud and clear. This is an important moment. We can’t not fight for the people of Michigan and that’s what this is all about,” Whitmer said.