Legislature Approves Medicaid Expansion; Awaits Gov. Snyder's Signature

Medicaid expansion in Michigan, a key component of the federal government's Affordable Care Act, is heading to Gov. Rick Snyder's desk for approval.

The state House of Representatives voted 75-32 on Tuesday to approve the Senate's version of House Bill 4714, which will expand Medicaid to roughly 470,000 low-income Michiganders.

Michigan will be the 25th state in the nation to offer expanded benefits.

In Tuesday's decision, 28 Republicans voted for the bill and 31 voted against it. All but one of the Democrats voted "yes."

Rep. George Darany, D-Dearborn, said he is pleased that the legislature could work together on the bipartisan agreement.

"Reforming Medicaid in Michigan is crucial to the health and well-being of our state's citizens. I am very pleased that the Michigan legislature was able to send a final bill to the governor's desk for signature," Darany said.

Still, Darany voiced frustration with the bill's implementation. The House of Representatives passed a similar bill in June, however the Senate failed to act on the legislation before adjourning for summer recess.

The Senate's bill was approved last week, however members failed to obtain enough votes to give the bill immediate effect, which means that it won’t go into effect until sometime in late March or early April of 2014. That delay will end up costing the state an estimated $7 million a day in lost federal funds for the expansion, or more than $630 million if delayed to April, according to the Detroit Free Press.

"While this legislation is a huge step forward for our great state, I am very concerned about the delay in implementation of the bill. Unfortunately, the bill as it was passed will not go into effect until the spring of next year and our state will miss the opportunity to save Michigan hundreds of millions of dollars," Darany said.

"Even more concerning is the fact that so many of our deserving friends, families and neighbors will have to continue waiting for health care services and taxpayers will be left with the burden of paying for the delay."

The Medicaid expansion would extend to people who fall within 133 percent of the federal poverty level and would be fully paid for by the federal government through 2017. The federal contribution would drop to 90 percent by 2020.