"The right to criticize government is also an obligation to know what you are talking about."

-Lent Upson, first director of Citizens Research Council

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June 26, 2025

Medicaid in Michigan and the Impact of Federal Cuts

Policymakers in Washington are currently debating major legislation that includes changes that will significantly reduce federal spending on Medicaid, the program that provides health care coverage to almost a quarter of Michigan’s population.

While the bill has not been enacted, the legislation likely cannot achieve its other aims without changes that generate large decreases in federal spending on Medicaid. These Medicaid cuts will likely cause hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents to lose access to health care, either through direct loss of insurance coverage or by losing access to service providers that rely heavily on Medicaid funding to operate.

If the bill was enacted as currently drafted, Michigan would face between $2 and $4 billion fewer dollars flowing to Michigan annually. It is projected that at least 200,000 people in the state would lose direct insurance coverage, with even more people potentially losing services from providers that would struggle to operate sustainably following cuts to Medicaid. Rural providers are particularly vulnerable, creating a disparate impact on Michigan residents in certain parts of the state, straining an already struggling health care infrastructure.

Medicaid in Michigan

Medicaid in Michigan Medicaid provides health care coverage to a significant portion of the nation’s and each state’s population. Roughly 21 percent of the population nationwide and 23 percent of Michigan residents obtain health insurance through Medicaid. Michigan has the highest Medicaid enrollment rate in the region and the eighth highest nationally. Every Medicaid Expansion state has at least 18 percent of its population covered by Medicaid.13

State's Cost for Free School Meals Will Spike with Federal Cuts to SNAP, Medicaid

IN A NUTSHELL

 -- Michigan’s new free school meals policy is likely to grow more expensive for the state budget with federal policy changes currently under consideration in Washington D.C.

 -- Changes that restrict participation in SNAP and Medicaid have downstream effects, beyond the original federal programs, that affect student access to federally-funded free school meals. Michigan students won’t go hungry because, if schools lose federal reimbursement dollars, state dollars will pick up the costs to ensure all students have access to free meals.

 -- State policymakers must stay abreast of the downstream impacts of these federal funding cuts and be prepared to factor prospective cost shifts into future School Aid Fund budgets.

Catch Up On More Recent Reports:

• Ecorse's High Tax Rates: A Showcase for Michigan's Ineffective Property Tax Rate Limits
• The Long and Winding Road to a FY2026 State Budget
• Is Michigan Getting the Most Out of its Road Funding? A Closer Look at the Data

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Sales Tax Study Sets Stage for State Push, Bridget Detroit (June 25)

Smaller high school graduate counts forecasted for Southeast Michigan, Macomb Daily (June 23)

Report: Federal budget reconciliation could make MI free school lunches more expensive, Gongwer (June 23)

Genesee Health System shows off groundbreaking Behavioral Health Urgent Care, WNEM TV-5 (June 19)

Politicians are calling for school reform: What Michigan has already tried, Detroit Free Press (June 16)

MI Business Beat/Mackinac Policy Conference 2025 - Eric Lupher, Michigan Business Network (June 9)

Mackinac Moments - Talk of tariffs, politics, business and opportunities, Michigan Matters/CBS News (June 9)

MI Business Beat/Mackinac Policy Conference 2025 - Eric Lupher, Michigan Business Network (June 9)

Opinion: Michigan roads won’t fix themselves. It’s time for a real plan, Bridge Michigan (June 4)

Too soon to celebrate Detroit’s population growth? WDET (June 4)