Concerns about Medicaid redetermination in Michigan: Insights from physicians
In March 2023, with the end of the Public Health Emergency initiated under the Covid 19 pandemic, Michigan reinstated redeterminations for Medicaid eligibility, resulting in the disenrollment of over 687,000 residents as of February 2024—82% of which were due to missing documentation or missed notifications.
The Center for Health & Research Transformation (CHRT) surveyed Michigan physicians to gauge their concerns about the impact of the Medicaid redetermination process on their practice and patient populations. The findings reveal significant concern among Michigan physicians, particularly those working in Federally Qualified Health Centers and community mental health, that disruptions in Medicaid coverage are likely to negatively affect patient access to essential health services. Nearly half of the surveyed physicians reported concerns about disruptions in care, with the highest concern among those seeing a large percentage of Medicaid patients.
This survey underscores the need for Michigan policymakers, government administrators, and health systems to check back in with physicians to see how Medicaid determinations and their patients’ loss of coverage may be effecting their practices. By understanding the challenges highlighted by frontline healthcare workers, Michigan can develop more supportive strategies to stabilize Medicaid coverage and prevent further disruptions in the healthcare system.