A Consumer’s Guide to New Michigan Medicaid Work Requirements
New Michigan Medicaid work requirements were signed into law on Friday, June 22, and will begin to take effect in 2020.
The new law changes the Healthy Michigan Plan, and 700,000 people will be directly impacted. Of the 2.5 million Michiganders who receive Medicaid coverage, 1.8 million traditional Medicaid enrollees are exempt.
The program will start January 1, 2020. Michigan’s Medicaid work requirements must be approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services before they go into effect. The state anticipates that the program will be approved, and multiple announcements will be sent to consumers in 2019.
Healthy Michigan enrollees can apply for an exemption if they are:
- Age 63+
- Full-time students
- Former foster care youth
- Recently incarcerated
- Getting unemployment compensation
- Disabled, medically frail, or limited in
work ability due to medical conditions - Caregivers and pregnant women
- Eligible for a “good cause” exemption
Those who don’t qualify for an exemption will need to work 80 hours per month, on average, to maintain coverage.
If an individual cannot find a job, Michigan will count any of these activities toward work requirements:
- Jobs, internships, or job training programs
- Full-time studies
- Tribal employment programs
- Drug treatment programs
- Community service activities (up to three months each year)
Those who fail to meet Michigan’s new Medicaid work requirements for three months in a year will lose coverage for at least one month. Coverage will renew when they return to compliance.