Chelsea Community Hospital and Trinity Health are hopeful that legislative leaders will reach agreement on how best to provide Medicaid health insurance to low-income working adults across the state this spring.
As the budget process moves forward, it is becoming more and more apparent that failing to accept the federal support to provide health insurance to an estimated 450,000 Michigan adults – including many uninsured veterans – will have serious consequences to our local economy, according to a press release from the hospital.
Business leaders across Michigan — including the Small Business Association of Michigan and the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce – are quick to point out that Medicaid reform and expansion can help slow increasing insurance premiums paid by Michigan employers by reducing uncompensated care in Michigan hospitals, which imposes a hidden tax of about $1,000 per family through higher health insurance premiums.
According to the press release, the legislature’s failure to reach agreement around reforming and expanding Medicaid will mean:
- Michigan will forgo approximately $2.1 billion in economic activity and the creation of an estimated 18,000 new jobs generated by the additional federal dollars coming into the state’ s health care system.
- Nearly 100,000 low-income veterans and their family members living in Michigan will be unable to receive adequate health care insurance.
- An estimated 26,000 extremely poor childless adults without disabilities could completely lose access to health care in 2014, adding to the uncompensated care problem.
For more information about Medicaid Expansion Advocacy, click here.
