Health care providers and consumers alike are
working hard to have their voices heard while the Michigan House considers whether to accept the federal government's offer of Medicaid expansion under Obamcare.
Five years ago, 30-year-old Dean McMacken was partially paralyzed for a few months after a tree he was cutting fell into him.
“If my Medicaid wasn’t there, I would be in debt so far out my ears, I wouldn’t know what to do,” said McMacken.
McMacken and about 30 other patients, nurses and supporters gathered outside the Anderson House Office Building Tuesday to voice their opinion on a proposed Medicaid expansion in Michigan. [...]
The expansion program wanted by the Michigan Nurses Association could offer health insurance and mental services to approximately 320,000 Michigan veterans, senior citizens, those with disabilities, and low-income individuals who either don’t have access to or can’t afford coverage.
A House committee approved an expansion bill on Wednesday, sending it to the full house for a possible vote Thursday. Gov. Rick Snyder has been pushing for the expansion, but the bill could create a hurdle with the federal government if it passes. It includes a
GOP-written provision that requires enrollees to either switch out of Medicaid and purchase insurance on the state exchange, or start paying more of their out-of-pocket health care costs after being on the program for four years. That provision would have to be waived by the federal government for the plan to pass muster.