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Pandemic response drove increase in government assistance in Michigan

One-third of the state is on government assistance. COVID-19 response was the dividing line

… welfare checks, health care and Medicaid, one in three Michigan residents … categories went up. The number of Medicaid recipients in Michigan grew 21% since … have to verify the eligibility of Medicaid recipients. That has changed. The … people were purged from Michigan’s Medicaid rolls just since the start of 2024.  …

One-third of Michigan residents receive government assistance

Number has grown 30% since Whitmer took office

… 2023 is 30% higher than the roughly 2.6 million served in 2019, when Whitmer took office. State welfare assistance programs include the following: Medicaid, food stamps, State Emergency Relief, the Family Independence Program, State Disability Assistance and Child Development and Care. The Michigan …

Endnotes

… 2017): 205-230. 23 Thomas DeLeire, Leonard M. Lopoo and Kosali I. Simon, “Medicaid expansions and fertility in the United States” (Demography 48, no. 2, … Economics 66, 2017): 119-131; Friederike Seifert, "The Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion and interstate migration in border regions of US States" (Review …

Public finances

… greater welfare benefits but that the stringency of rules had no discernible effect on migration patterns.[75] One study evaluates the effect of Medicaid expansion in Massachusetts in 2010. The authors find that Massachusetts’ health insurance subsidies for low-income individuals led to significant …

Potential factors influencing death rates

… and a 4% increase on other roads.”[42] [*] This ratio is the sum of social service and public health spending divided by the sum of Medicare and Medicaid spending. Elizabeth H. Bradley, Maureen Canavan, Erika Rogan, Kristina Talbert-Slagle, Chima Ndumele, Lauren Taylor and Leslie A. Curry, "Variation …

Potential factors influencing birth rates

… health care coverage to low-income households. Examining the impact of Medicaid expansions in the 1980s, a team of researchers “conclude that there is no robust relationship between Medicaid expansions and fertility.”[23] Researchers often note the need for broad-based …

‘That is what makes health care so different from every other sector of the economy’

Brian Blase on putting the customer back in the health care system

… through private insurance or through the government programs Medicare and Medicaid. Part of the reason for this is third-party payments. Insurers pay medical … cover. And taxpayers cover the costs for people enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid. “We’ve done a pretty good job of suppressing who pays for all the health …

A Jarrett of All Trades

Meet Jarrett Skorup, Vice President for Marketing and Communications

… proposals would have elevated union contracts above state law, mandated more industrial wind turbines, and allowed a union to keep skimming dues from Medicaid payments to home health care workers. Jarrett gave more than 30 speeches around the state warning about the effects of these proposals. He also …

COVID flexibilities that should outlive COVID-19

Here are nine suggestions for improving care and reducing costs

… provider relationships. 5. Reserve Medicaid resources for the truly needy Medicaid is the largest line item in most … priorities. In 2020, more than 25% of Medicaid spending went to people who do not … insurers to deliver much of the Medicaid program, every ineligible enrollee …

Michigan deserves accountability for Medicaid

States must resume checking for eligibility

… eligibility for those receiving Medicaid. But Gov. Gretchen Whitmer … to ensure people receiving Medicaid are eligible for it, Michigan … to protect the profits of Medicaid insurance companies at the … engaged in routine reviews of Medicaid beneficiaries' eligibility. … enrollment of everyone on Medicaid — even if enrollees became …

Worker freedom and individual liberty

… typically the family of seriously ill or disabled people who qualified for Medicaid support. For the care they provided, these family members received modest … bargain. The union, nevertheless, siphoned over $33 million from these Medicaid payments — money meant to care for the sick and disabled. After the Michigan …

Pass a Sustainable Michigan Budget

Population growth plus inflation equals enough spending for everybody

… recommendation to spend all of the collected tax revenue. This doesn’t give lawmakers a lot of room to respond to unexpected needs, like increased demand for Medicaid in the event of an unexpected recession. Plus, the desire to spend all tax revenue puts pressure on lawmakers to increase taxes if revenue drops …

Federal program forces drug companies to fund hospital profits

Program meant to support charity care enriches hospitals

… 340B program only does this indirectly, if at all. Yes, the program is limited to nonprofit hospitals serving a higher percentage of patients on Medicaid. But there’s no requirement that hospitals use the profits they make from it to help low-income patients, which works against the spirit behind the …

Local governments in Michigan can’t keep extra cash from tax foreclosures, but state has other ways to claim money

An auction netted the county $260k, says an heir whose aunt’s property was taken by officials, but Medicaid administrators may take it all anyway

… Services asserted a claim of its own. The department said that under the policy of estate recovery, it was due the surplus as repayment for funds its Medicaid program had spent on Bouford-Hiar’s behalf. The circuit court agreed with the state, and in August 2021, put a pause on Litzner’s suit against the …

Mackinac Center Announces 2023 Policy Priorities

Worker freedom, government transparency, rejecting corporate welfare are key issues

… training in prisons. Create meaningful school accountability. Reduce overcriminalization and recidivism rates. Maintain the sustainability of Michigan’s Medicaid program. Keep Line 5 open and support a tunnel to protect it. “Tonight, Gov. Whitmer will set out her administration’s priorities for the year,” …

Medicaid for All

Proposed federal rule would stymie state eligibility reviews

… Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services within the U.S. … it claims will streamline Medicaid services. The rule’s practical … eligible for the program. Medicaid is a massive federal and … states’ ability to police Medicaid rolls. It is estimated that up to 20% of Medicaid spending nationwide may already …

Medicaid for all

Proposed federal rule would stymie state eligibility reviews

… Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services within the U.S. … it claims will streamline Medicaid services. The rule’s practical … eligible for the program. Medicaid is a massive federal and … states’ ability to police Medicaid rolls. It is estimated that up to 20% of Medicaid spending nationwide may already …

Michigan’s revenue growth gets spun as reduced spending

Only in government can soaring rates of spending be described as budget cuts

… receives a lot of federal funding for means-tested support programs like Medicaid. Total federal revenue for the Department of Health and Human Service … increased $3.3 billion, a 19.5% increase when adjusting for inflation. State Medicaid rolls are up 69% over the period, in part due to the change in eligibility …

Federal drug program is very ineffective at helping the poor

Government should revamp 340B drug pricing program

… percentage of patients on Medicaid. The problem? The drugs … program don’t have to go to Medicaid beneficiaries. As the Richmond … in the number of people on Medicaid. The number of Medicaid enrollees has skyrocketed … people became eligible for Medicaid, more hospitals and health …

Federal drug pricing program drives up drug prices

A bill in Michigan may make transparency harder in the 340B program

… 11.75% of its patients are in Medicaid. In the past decade, many … limits of those eligible for Medicaid, exploding the total number … improved, lawmakers expanded Medicaid, adding more than 800,000 … government health care rolls. Medicaid is now 27% of the Michigan … people became eligible for Medicaid, more hospitals and clinics …

COVID Ratcheted up Federal Transfers to the State Budget

Federal transfers to Michigan jumped up to $33.0 billion

… Health and Human Services oversees the state’s Medicaid program. The federal government tied some of … to a requirement that the state keep people on Medicaid during the pandemic, even if their income went … limits. The state has 637,000 more people on Medicaid than it did when the pandemic began. Public …

We’ve Beaten Down the Union ‘Dues Skim’ in Michigan Again and Again

The Biden administration is trying to revive it for other states

… scheme. Bob and Pat receive monthly Medicaid checks to take care of their two … in 2019 ending the diversion of Medicaid payments to unions. The federal agency that oversees Medicaid said the rule was meant to ensure … suffer the most: Directing federal Medicaid money away from its intended purpose …

SEIU Healthcare Michigan is under trusteeship once again

Its second trusteeship in five years owes to ‘substantiated allegations of serious malpractice’

… the early 2000s, SEIU locals across the country, including its Michigan affiliate, took millions of dollars from people who were getting paid by Medicaid to care for their disabled family members in their own home. The union did this by enrolling these caregivers as members, usually without their consent, …

Bureaucratic Emergency Powers Should be Curtailed

House Oversight Committee

… mandates and rules that have the force of law. There are more than 30 such grants of power. They address a variety of issues, including plant diseases, Medicaid payments to medical providers, dry cleaning, mobile home licensing, adulterated food products, metal and coal mining, and much more. The design …

The New Republic Says Unions Are Making a Comeback

But the ancient magazine of political insiders gives no evidence, and Michigan numbers indicate the opposite

… Employees International Union went from 47,805 to 16,486, a 65.5% decrease. The union was sued after it illegally diverted more than $6 million in Medicaid funds to itself, taking money meant for disabled individuals who had hired others, often their family members, to help them at home. Critics called …

Where Do Your Tax Dollars Go?

Handy taxplainer shows where the revenues get collected and spent

… in income taxes, they spent 28 cents distributing it to K-12 schools. Another 27 cents went to social assistance programs, the majority of that to Medicaid. All told, here is how Lansing spends your income taxes: It gets more granular than that. Lawmakers don’t just fund departments. They break up …

Hospitals Collect More Fed Drug Purchase Subsidies, Intended Beneficiaries Don’t Get More Care

Studies’ evidence suggest federal program is mostly padding hospitals’ bottom lines

… applies to drug makers that want to serve the markets funded by Medicare and Medicaid. Under it, the companies must sell certain drugs at a discount to hospitals … who lacked insurance coverage. The study noted also that enlarging the Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act increased public spending costs. …

Medicaid Payments Should Go to Caregivers, Not to Unions

U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging

… opposes the expansion of Medicaid payments to labor organizations … discover the redirection of Medicaid payments to labor organizations, … deduction of union dues from the Medicaid payments of home-based caregivers … system in which payments of Medicaid funds can be directed to … compensated primarily through Medicaid payments. Despite this, the …

Mackinac Brings Health Care Reforms to the Legislature

… to the commission’s meetings and commit the Legislature to oversee it through annual reviews. Another state program that needs more oversight is Medicaid. During the pandemic, the state suspended its regular reviews of the program, which it had used to verify if people enrolled in it were eligible …

Telemedicine

… payer insurance market and in Medicaid. This flexibility increases … comes to telemedicine for Medicaid recipients, including those … Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, state policymakers … Health and Human Services gave Medicaid recipients increased freedom … lines and permanently allow Medicaid recipients to use telemedicine …

Scope of Practice

… by an overall shortage of primary care physicians, or an uneven displacement of them. Regardless of the reason, vulnerable populations — those on Medicaid, the poor and uninsured, Michiganders with disabilities, and those living in rural areas — have less access to primary care providers. Research shows …

Hospital Chain: ‘Patently False’ That Staffing Shortage Due To Its Vaccine Mandate

Henry Ford says just 1% of its workforce left; in January feds sent in Disaster Medical Assistant Team

… Nov. 4 the federal government would require COVID-19 vaccinations by Jan. 4 for all U.S. health care workers whose employers receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. On Jan. 13, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a federal vaccine mandate imposed on 17 million health care workers nationwide.

Four Hospitals That Take Federal Money To Help Low-Income Patients Do Less To Help Than Those That Don't

… participating hospitals are more profitable than non-participating hospitals. The 340B government program is designed to assist patients not eligible for Medicaid or Medicare but still are low income and help pay for prescription medications. Hospitals call this charity care which means they do not expect to …

Federal Enticements Drive the Constant Growth in Michigan's Medicaid Spending

Lawmakers should enforce their eligibility rules as soon as permitted by the federal government

… 1965, Congress created the Medicaid program to pay for medical … by the federal government, Medicaid is administered by the states, … number of people covered by Medicaid in Michigan and the program’s … program.) The number of Medicaid participants increased from … Lawmakers deliberately expanded Medicaid coverage to residents with …

“You Quickly Realize That This is an Injustice and it has to be Fixed.”

Jennifer Butler on federal rule making on a union dues skim operation

… dues from being skimmed from Medicaid. The federal government … used to pay for state-run Medicaid programs, and it can attach … many programs funded through Medicaid provides care to adults with … and other institutions. Medicaid provides stipends to the … Michigan receive a stipend from Medicaid to take care of their adult …

New Department of Health and Human Services Rule Would Reinstate Dues Skim

Health care providers should be given a choice

… reauthorize union’s ability to skim dues from Medicaid payments used to pay for home health care workers. … care workers. These workers, who often rely on Medicaid payments to provide care for their sick or disabled … shortage of home health care workers and direct Medicaid payments away from their intended purpose. Funds …

State Lawmakers Need to Get Better Outcomes With Newfound Federal Cash

It’s less obvious than it should be in the political process

… educational outcomes is a different story. They tend not to. The governor has recommended increasing pay for direct care workers. People are paid by Medicaid to take care of family members who need help, and companies also work to provide these services as well. Rates are set in law, and increasing wage …

The Problem With Michigan’s Numbers on COVID-19 Deaths at Nursing Homes

The state should try to produce a more precise figure

… homes: 1) Skilled Nursing Homes, 2) Adult Foster Care, and 3) Homes for the Aged. Skilled Nursing Homes are regulated by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and are under federal jurisdiction. Adult Foster Care and Homes for the Aged facilities are regulated by the Michigan Department of Licensing …

Auditors Find State Overpaid Medicaid Home Health Vendors $39.4 Million

Could be worse: A previous audit found a $160 million loss

… Michigan has delivered millions of dollars in overpayments to vendors under a Medicaid program meant to help needy people with daily activities such as bathing, … the first time the Office of the Auditor General found issues with the Medicaid Home Help Program. In an audit covering October 2010 through August 2013, …

Will Congress’s State Spending Spree Continue When COVID is Over?

It did after the last recession

… reductions, they never fell anywhere close to the pre-recession levels. There were some other important policy changes. State lawmakers expanded Medicaid eligibility to collect further federal cash in 2015 and that increased the share of the state budget that comes from Washington. Federal transfers …

Expand Bottle Bill, COVID-19 Risk Metrics, National Guard Limits and More

This week's MichiganVotes Roll Call Report

… to committee, no further action at this time. House Bill 4208: Expand Medicaid alcoholism coverage Introduced by Rep. Abdullah Hammoud (D), to require Michigan’s Medicaid benefits program to cover fee-based medical services related to a primary …

Report: Controversial Drug Rationing Scheme Eyed By Trump, Biden Administrations

Expert panels decide whether extra years added by certain treatments worth the cost

… considered using review panels to decide whether America’s Medicare and Medicaid programs should pay for certain treatments. Under this system, the panels … year. Michigan does not use QALY for treatment decisions in the state’s Medicaid program, state officials told Michigan Capitol Confidential last year. …

Let’s Cut the Michigan Income Tax

… are a lot of decisions that get built into budgets. Increased demand for Medicaid during the pandemic cost more than $870 million — some of it supported … federal dollars — and perhaps a recovering economy will put less strain on Medicaid rolls. It simply comes down to whether lawmakers make reducing taxes …

A Call to Cut the Income Tax

Let taxpayers keep more of what they earn

… lot of decisions that get built into budgets. The increase in demand for Medicaid during the pandemic cost more than $870 million — federal support included — and perhaps a recovering economy will put less strain on Medicaid rolls. It simply comes down to whether lawmakers make reducing taxes …

Michigan Needs to Clean Up Medicaid Spending and Eligibility

Resources should be saved for the state’s most vulnerable people

… anticipate record levels of Medicaid enrollment next fiscal year … money to state coffers. While Medicaid has been a significant part … relief bills affecting the Medicaid program. One provision temporarily … federal government’s share of Medicaid costs by 6.2 percentage points. … that states can’t remove Medicaid recipients even if they are …

And the Winner Is … The Mackinac Center for Public Policy!

… we were recognized for our contribution to ending the infamous dues skim, a scheme that allowed for unions to forcibly “skim” money off the top of Medicaid care providers’ paychecks. This practice is now extinct, thanks in large part to the years-long work of the Center and our fellow SPN organizations. …

Less Road Funding from the Road-Fixing Governor

… they got in fiscal year 2018-19. The Department of Health Human Services gets $554 million more, partially because there are more people covered by Medicaid in the pandemic. Michigan took a year off from its taxpayer-paid tourism advertising program, and reinstating it is more of a priority in the eyes …

Less Road Funding from the Road-Fixing Governor

State spending up, but not for roads

… got in fiscal year 2018-19. The Department of Health and Human Services gets $554 million more, partially because there are more people covered by Medicaid in the pandemic. Michigan took a year off from its taxpayer-paid tourism advertising program, and reinstating it is more of a priority for lawmakers …

Key Votes by the 2019-2020 Michigan Legislature

October 30 MichiganVotes Roll Call Report

… changes customers could still choose unlimited PIP coverage, or choose policies with PIP limits of $250,000, $500,000, and for individuals covered by Medicaid, $50,000. Seniors on Medicare and individuals covered by other health insurance with less than a $6,000 deductible could choose not to purchase any …

State Budget Recovers From Pandemic

Weak case for additional federal coronavirus relief

… billion of that is fueled by federal revenue and $330 million comes in added state spending. In September, there were 228,000 more people receiving Medicaid, the biggest program of the department, than there were in February. One motivation for the federal relief efforts was to ensure people remained …

No More Bailouts for State and Local Governments

The federal government cannot afford it

… local governments received $150 billion for unexpected expenditures directly arising from the pandemic, on top of billions earmarked for education, Medicaid and other continuing programs. The state and local assistance came with restrictions that it could be used only for new expenses directly related …

State 'General Fund' Revenue Flat? Only Because Lawmakers Shifted Money Around

Over 10 years, total state revenues grew 16% faster than inflation

… on each pack of cigarettes. Instead of putting all of that money in the General Fund, the Legislature instead transferred 75% of it to the state Medicaid Trust Fund. In 2015, state lawmakers chose to redirect $600 million in income tax revenue from the General Fund and moved it to the State Transportation …

Defund Corporate Welfare Agency for Better Public Health

Higher taxes won't be as effective at eliminating smoking habits

… attorneys general from most American states settled lawsuits against large tobacco companies, having first asserted that governments needed to recoup Medicaid-related costs associated with the sale of tobacco products. The tobacco “Master Settlement Agreement” that resulted from the lawsuits came with a …

Stealth Unionization Discovered

… Michigan, day care and home health care providers who received checks through Medicaid became a target. Together with then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm, unions set … holding a stealth election. Then, they started taking dues out of the Medicaid checks from more than 100,000 people. This netted three of Michigan’s …

Revisit Spending Priorities

Lawmakers won't have as much revenue to spend this year

… majority of its money on schools and Medicaid. This spending has steadily increased … tend to drive state spending on Medicaid. The state expanded its Medicaid coverage to more people above the … emergency, the state should require Medicaid enrollees to report changes in circumstances …

Electronic Search and Seizure; Liquor Sales and More

June 12 MichiganVotes Roll Call Report

… during the November 2020 general election. House Bill 5416: Revise restrictions on “telemedicine” services: Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate To permit Medicaid and other social welfare medical assistance programs to reimburse providers for some telemedicine services if the recipient is in an “in-home or …

Budgeting in The Pandemic

… Legislature and the Democratic governor. The governor wanted to raise taxes to increase funding for roads and other spending areas like schools and Medicaid. Republican legislators wanted to rely on the state’s growing revenues to increase road funding. They butted heads until the next fiscal year started, …

Michigan’s State Government Can Afford to Operate With Less Revenue

Lawmakers should avoid taking on debt or raising taxes

… taxes or going into debt. The state has over $1 billion saved for such an occasion. The federal government has also already provided some relief for Medicaid and education expenses, and it can loosen restrictions on some other assistance that has already been made available. Even with extra cash, lawmakers …

Coronavirus Relief Money, Tax Deadlines and Telemedicine

May 15 MichiganVotes Roll Call Report

… give a temporary $3 per hour bonus to “direct care workers” covered by Medicaid and other social welfare programs; $50 million in grants to buy personal … messaging." House Bills 5413 to 5416 amend other laws to make similar changes in Medicaid and related social welfare programs, and also remove current restrictions …

Auto Insurance Reforms Look Promising for Michigan Drivers

Though there may be a need for additional reforms

… themselves have health insurance coverage through an employer or Medicare may select no PIP coverage at all. Finally, drivers who have insurance through Medicaid may select PIP coverage capped at $50,000. The new law requires auto insurance companies and agencies to give all policyholders a standardized form, …

Michigan Lawmakers Ought to Consider Budget Savings Before Tax Hikes or Debt

They should look within the existing budget to address any fiscal shortfalls

… government to prevent some spending reductions. The federal government has already announced grants to state and local governments for education and Medicaid spending. There are further federal grants to state and local governments already approved, though they come with some restrictions we have argued …

Many Emergency Orders To Fight COVID-19 Should Be Put Into Law For Good

… governor’s proposed budget for this year was flush, with substantial increases in most areas of state government, including K-12 schools, universities, Medicaid, Pure Michigan advertising and most departments. The virus changed that, freezing spending, cutting the budget and redirecting money. Michigan has …

Michigan’s Personal Income Tax During Pandemic

… allocations are to prisons, Medicaid and state universities. … them may be eligible for Medicaid. The pandemic may also cause … for people to be covered by Medicaid, and it makes those groups … If the number of people in Medicaid needing treatment for COVID-19 … and physicians receive from Medicaid are less than the costs they …

‘Senseless’ Elective Surgery Lockdown May Put Hillsdale Hospital Under

Testing, x-rays, blood draws, operating room, staff: ‘We lose everything’

… Hillsdale’s revenue comes from treating patients covered by social welfare programs: 70% of all it health care service reimbursements are from Medicare and Medicaid. Such programs typically pay less than private insurers do. “We’re the third-largest employer in the county,” Hodshire said. “If we were to continue …

Michigan’s Personal Income Tax During Pandemic

Pressure on tax revenues and the services the taxes pay for

… allocations are to prisons, Medicaid and state universities. … them may be eligible for Medicaid. The pandemic may also cause … for people to be covered by Medicaid, and it makes those groups … If the number of people in Medicaid needing treatment for COVID-19 … and physicians receive from Medicaid are less than the costs they …

Michigan's Coronavirus Response Bills

A special edition of the MichiganVotes Roll Call Report

… entity. 2020 House Bill 5631: Include coronavirus treatment and more in Medicaid benefits Introduced by Rep. Abdullah Hammoud (D) to include coronavirus treatment costs among those the state Medicaid and other social welfare programs will pay for, including doctor visits, …

Michigan House Bill Package Increases Road Funding Without Raising Taxes

The state’s current budget debate is not about cuts

… the $10.6 billion income tax to schools, for instance, but other spending interests don’t call that spending ­— $2.9 billion worth — as a cut to Medicaid or whatever other spending item that could have received that money. Schools and roads aren’t the only things that lawmakers care about, either, …

Michigan Should Move Forward With Medicaid Work Requirements

Work requirements empower people to become financially independent

… able-bodied adults receiving Medicaid benefits through the state’s … said that the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare, or CMS, had … we should recognize about Medicaid work and community engagement … issue with the Center for Medicaid and Medicare and its analysis. … it will continue to defend Medicaid work requirement waivers …

Michigan Officials Skeptical of Controversial Drug Rationing Program

Who decides what another year of life is worth to a person?

… welfare programs, including Medicaid. Researchers at the Pioneer … health systems like state Medicaid programs, use it, the researchers … Institute analysis, said Medicaid programs that use the assessments … perilous ground, because many Medicaid recipients are disabled. … analysis found. Michigan’s Medicaid program does not use QALY, …

There’s Good Policy on the Agenda in 2020 – But Not Much Time to Move It

… summer could be testy. One of the budget-related flashpoints will be Healthy Michigan, our state’s version of the national push to add more people to Medicaid. Approximately 670,000 new people have enrolled — almost 50% more than were forecast when the law was passed. As a result, the state is rapidly approaching …

There May Finally Be Hope for Moving Health Care Policy in the Right Direction

… Obamacare gives states to extend Medicaid coverage to able-bodied, … keep the expanded form of Medicaid and use so-called market-based … choose to reside. Freeze Medicaid enrollment for able-bodied … director John Nixon said of the Medicaid program. In 2010, Michigan … but he was unable to touch Medicaid — which at that point consumed …

Déjà Vu: Road Funding Debate Tops the List of Michigan Issues

… raise fuel taxes by 45 cents a gallon, with 14 cents of the tax going beyond road funding and into her other priorities, like K-12 education and Medicaid. Mackinac Center scholars, myself included, pointed out that Michigan lawmakers had looked within the state budget and found $1 billion in extra …

10 Years Of Michigan Capitol Confidential Online

If CapCon doesn’t report it, who will?

… extensively – and, at first, exclusively — on how unions and state agencies entered a deal to “unionize” home caregivers and extract “dues” from the small Medicaid stipends the receive. Many of these caregivers were friends or family members of the disabled individuals they help. But the unions claimed they …

2020: A New Day, or Groundhog Day?

… state governments — not just Michigan’s — is Medicaid, and the Obamacare Medicaid expansion (i.e., Healthy Michigan) is becoming … greater than was originally forecast. The main Medicaid program for the low-income elderly, disabled, …

CapCon’s Top 10 Stories For 2019

Road Fix That Wasn’t, Gun-Free Zones, 1,100 Windmills Won’t Replace This Coal Plant

… only, not federal or local dollars. No. 4 Headline: Republicans Imposed Medicaid Work Requirements; Governor Wants To Undo Them From the story: Michigan’s … predecessor to require childless, able-bodied beneficiaries of the Obamacare Medicaid expansion to meet work, training or community service requirements. In …

Mackinac Wins 2019 State Policy Network Award

… Center Legal Foundation discovered that the Service Employees International Union was automatically deducting union dues from home-based caregivers’ Medicaid payments. The SEIU had unionized thousands of home health care workers, unbeknownst to them, and siphoned tens of millions of dollars into its coffers. …

Tech Data, Internet Taxes, Facial Recognitions and More

December 6 MichiganVotes Roll Call Report

… spending, for a total of $573.8 million. The added spending in the two bills is spread across many budget line items, and includes $340 million more for Medicaid and other social welfare programs and $35 million in operations funding for charter schools. The House passed the same provisions in Senate Bills …

The Bipartisan State Budget

Budgets generate a lot of conflict, but not a lot of partisan spending

… Big policy decisions that impact the state budget are often made outside the annual budget process. For instance, lawmakers chose to expand its Medicaid services in 2013 which requires billions in additional taxpayer spending. Annual budgets only provide the money to pay for that decision rather than …

Large Hospitals Want State Monopoly On New Cancer Treatment

And a state commission will give it to them unless legislature acts

… as a free-market conservative, “but health care is not a free market,” he said. “Half of all customers are covered by the government (Medicare and Medicaid).” While new cellular therapies using blood modified in a laboratory are promising, he said, they are also extremely expensive and perilous. “The …

Economic Growth Drives Budget Priorities

Largest gains were schools, roads and Medicaid

… Legislature’s top priorities: schools, roads and Medicaid. The transportation budget increased from $5.0 … The largest increases in state spending are on Medicaid. With federal transfers, the state is budgeted … human services department, up from $25.5 billion. Medicaid itself counts for the bulk of the increases, …

The Michigan Budget Fight Is Not Over Roads – It’s Everything Else

Budgets should be in line with lawmakers' priorities

… spending across the board, with the two largest increases being $523 million more for schools and $446 million for health and human services, especially Medicaid. The House and Senate budgets increase spending in these areas as well, but more modestly. Lawmakers should propose budgets in line with their priorities. …

Whitmer Coy On ‘Medicare For All,’ But Went Extra Mile For Obamacare’s Medicaid

A parliamentary maneuver that raised eyebrows

… state up for the Obamacare Medicaid expansion. Whitmer joined … more people eligible for Medicaid and was expected to send … get that in the Senate. So, Medicaid expansion could not begin … immediately. That way, the Medicaid expansion would go into effect … (unrecorded) vote, and the Medicaid expansion went into effect …

By the Numbers: The Dues Skim

$31,317,790.40 — Amount of money taken from Medicaid checks during the dues skim between 2004 and 2013 $200 million — Amount of money annually siphoned even after the dues skim was ruled unconstitutional 84% — Percentage of home care givers who opted to leave the SEIU once given a choice

Ending the 'Dues Skim' in Michigan

How the government was stopped from taking money from paychecks

Under the dues skim, Medicaid payments meant to aid the elderly and disabled were diverted to unions. … these union efforts by making it illegal for Medicaid payments to go to anyone other than the care … they continued to divert around $200 million in Medicaid funds, despite the Supreme Court’s decision. …

Michigan’s Laboratory for Liberty

Letter from the executive vice president

… federal lands. In May, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published a new rule that prohibits unions from skimming dues off the payments Medicaid sends to home health care providers. This should sound familiar to long-time Mackinac Center supporters. We discovered this problem in Michigan in …

Growth Fuels Budget Priorities in House and Senate Budgets

… Selective state spending on local projects is constitutionally dubious and generally wasteful. All three budgets recommend spending more state money on Medicaid as the federal government decreases its share. Overall, state spending on the health and human services budget increases by a low of $348 million …

Aretha Franklin, Medicaid, Mandated Dental Exams and More

This week's MichiganVotes roll call report

… Highway." Senate Bill 362, Ease reporting requirements for able-bodied Medicaid beneficiaries: Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate To grant greater leeway in … by able-bodied individuals accepting health coverage benefits under the Medicaid expansion authorized by the federal health care law. A 2018 law made getting …

Growth Fuels Budget Priorities in House and Senate Budgets

Real Cuts to Corporate Welfare on the Table

… That’s good. Select spending to local projects is constitutionally dubious and generally wasteful. All three recommend spending more state money on Medicaid as the federal government decreases its share. Overall, state spending on the health and human services budget increases by a low of $348 million …

Who Voted Yes and Who Voted No on Landmark Auto Insurance Reform

Michigan Votes weekly roll call

… coverage. Customers could still choose unlimited PIP coverage, or choose policies with PIP limits of $250,000, $500,000, and for individuals covered by Medicaid, $50,000. Seniors on Medicare and individuals covered by other health insurance with less than a $6,000 deductible could choose not to purchase any …

Mackinac in the Media

… Lindsay Killen partnered with Jase Bolger, former speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, in The Detroit News. They wrote on how Michigan’s Medicaid work requirements “will reward the dignity of work that promotes the health and well-being of those served, help fill the strong demand for workers …

Michigan Watches a National Legal Battle Over Medicaid Work Requirements

… involving work requirements and Medicaid, a federal-state medical … who are newly eligible for Medicaid, after first getting permission … Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, also known as CMS, approved … requirements run contrary to Medicaid’s purpose. This is the second … which are moving forward with Medicaid work and community engagement …

Worries Over Medicaid Costs No Reason to Oppose No-Fault Reform

Any increased costs would be dwarfed by the savings drivers will achieve

… increased costs for both Medicaid and private health insurance. … overall state spending on Medicaid. The Michigan Senate Fiscal … potential increased cost of Medicaid from these no-fault reforms … amount the state spends on Medicaid and overall. In fiscal 2017, … spent about $16.8 billion on Medicaid. Even if the state had to …

No-Fault Reform Plans Will Save Drivers Money

Both Senate and House bills empower Michigan drivers to reduce their insurance premiums

… insurers. Large private health insurers and government programs like Medicare, Medicaid and workers’ compensation establish a set fee for each service that they … a no-fault policy can cost significantly more than an MRI paid for by Medicaid — sometimes 10 times as much. Both SB 1 and HB 4397 would establish a …

Dues Skimming Meets Its Demise

Federal rule ends a union's ability to involuntarily take money from home health care givers

… health care dues skim, whereby Medicaid grants meant to fund the … been skimmed off the top of Medicaid payments meant to provide … Eventually the dues skim ended, Medicaid recipients got their full … divert around $200 million in Medicaid funds. The new federal rule … than the care provider or Medicaid recipient. The unions will …

Mackinac Center Applauds Federal Change Ending Dues Skimming

Unions can no longer skim an estimated $200 million in dues from home health care workers

… family members. These individuals are eligible to receive payments from Medicaid to compensate them for the care they provide. But in some states, a portion … Mackinac Center study, of the tens of billions of dollars spent on two Medicaid programs meant to provide assistance to disabled and low-income families, …

Medicaid Work Requirements’ Tremendous Potential for Positive Impact on Spending and the Workforce

… policymakers decided to expand Medicaid under “Healthy Michigan” … $4,300 per adult enrolled in Medicaid, funded through over $4 billion … 71 percent of the state’s Medicaid costs and funds 95 percent … able-bodied population on Medicaid. Just before Gov. Gretchen … Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved the waiver, …

How States Can Support Federal Reforms for Cross-state Health Insurance Sales

There are several steps states can take to help reduce healthcare costs

Editor's Note: This article first appeared in The Hill on March 15, 2019.  Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began a public comment period seeking feedback from the states regarding possible federal reform that would make it easier for health insurers to sell plans across …

Background

… providers, to pay union dues by automatically deducting fees from their Medicaid payments on behalf of low-income and disabled Americans.[4] With the loss … Network), https://perma.cc/6HQP-MWQ5; Maxford Nelson, “Unions are Siphoning Medicaid Funds by Bullying Caregivers,” (Washington Examiner, May 10, 2017), https://perma.cc/7ZJX-KX96. …

Republicans Imposed Medicaid Work Requirements; Governor Wants to Undo Them

Gov. Whitmer wants U-turn on making able-bodied medical welfare recipients get a job

… beneficiaries of the Obamacare Medicaid expansion to meet work, training … predicted that Michigan’s new Medicaid work requirements would cause … according to national experts on Medicaid and health care policy, many … may explain why people left Medicaid after that state implemented … said in an interview that Medicaid and any work requirements …

Mackinac Center Releases 2019 Policy Recommendations

The Mackinac Center releases 2019 policy recommendations

… propriety of all state occupational licenses. Defend Medicaid Work Requirements: Work or community engagement … receive benefits through the Healthy Michigan Medicaid-expansion program were passed last year and should … able-bodied adults and protect the individuals that Medicaid was originally intended for. “The new political …