Work requirement for Medicaid could be big issue in 2018 election

A GOP controlled Senate committee on Wednesday approved the legislation along party lines. It comes months after the Trump administration announced it would permit such work requirements under a waiver process.

This represents a view that will appeal to conservatives across the state as the November elections for the state House and Senate approach.

But the obvious flaw in this approach is that most of those who rely on subsidized Medicaid coverage consist of senior citizens, the disabled or chronically ill, and poor children. Among the rest, about 70 percent work, even if their hours and wages are minimal.

More importantly, the Republican-controlled Senate of 2018 seems ready to undermine the Medicaid policies of the 2015 Senate. GOP senators just a few years ago, at a time when they did not face imminent re-election challenges, took a very different view of Medicaid.

Three years ago, the Legislature accepted GOP Gov. Rick Snyder’s Medicaid expansion plan while embracing reasonable, conservative requirements for Medicaid patients. New Medicaid recipients were mandated to pay 5 percent of out-of-pocket medical costs and, after 48 months, 7 percent. The 48-month penalty exempted those who are frail or suffer from chronic diseases or mental health problems.

At the time, the Senate also established: More flexibility for the state Department of Community Health to determine eligibility; incentives for healthy habits, such as not smoking and receiving an annual physical evaluation; and consequences for individuals who fail to contribute co-pays.

These well-crafted reforms gained simultaneous support from Michigan conservative business groups and liberal social welfare organizations. In other words, the innovations, compared to many other states, received bipartisan praise.

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Photo: WXYZ screenshot