Illinois Expands Medicaid Program; Michigan Continues Medicaid Deliberations

Illinois Approves Medicaid Expansion

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has signed a bill into law that will expand Medicaid coverage to hundreds of thousands of low-income residents.

Quinn signed the bill, SB 26, on July 22, at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Science System. It expands Medicaid eligibility to residents earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level, or about $33,000 a year of income for a family of four.

Altogether, about 342,000 Illinois residents are eligible for the expanded eligibility guidelines, which is part of the Affordable Care Act. The federal government will pay for 100% of the expansion between 2014 and 2016 – about $12 billion a year. That payment will drop to 90% in 2017 and subsequent years.

“In the home state of President Obama, we believe access to quality healthcare is a fundamental right and we proudly embrace the Affordable Care Act,” Quinn said. “This legislation will greatly improve the health of hundreds of thousands of people across Illinois, strengthen our healthcare system and create thousands of good jobs in the healthcare field.”

Michigan Lawmakers Continue To Debate Medicaid Expansion

The state of Michigan is continuing its deliberate debate on whether to expand Medicaid coverage under the auspices of the Affordable Care Act.

The Michigan Senate's Government Operations Committee voted last week to approve a bill, HB 4714, that would expand Medicaid to about 450,000 low-income residents. Michigan's House of Representatives had approved the bill earlier this year, but the full Senate took a long recess before they could vote on the bill.

However, the full Senate will also consider two other bills, SB 422, and SB 459-60. Neither would expand Medicaid as much as HB 4714. SB 422 would create a trust fund that would expand Medicaid eligibility for adults from its current 43% of the federal poverty level to 100%. SB 459-60 would also create a trust fund, but would use federal dollars currently designated for the Medicaid program to do so. Those eligible would also be moved into a qualified health plan with primary care, but high deductibles if more care is required.

HB 4714 is supported by both Michigan Democrats and Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican. The two senate bills were introduced by Republican lawmakers, and would cost the state of Michigan considerably more than expanding Medicaid eligibility under the ACA guidelines and accepting federal funds to do so, according to fiscal analyses of the bills.

The full Senate is expected to take action on the three measures when it returns from its recess on Aug 27.