Michigan’s plan to expand Medicaid health coverage to more than 300,000 low-income residents has been approved by the federal government. The state’s plan will require co-pays and health care savings accounts.
Eventually, almost half a million people in Michigan will be eligible for the coverage, instead of relying on emergency rooms for health care. The expansion is allowed under the federal Affordable Care Act and was one of the most contentious political issues in Lansing this year. It pitted many legislative Republicans against Gov. Rick Snyder. A compromise was eventually approved that will require people who enroll to make co-pays for services and contribute to health care savings accounts.
Working poor people will begin to enroll early in 2014, with coverage beginning in mid-March.
