FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2025
TROY, MI — The Michigan Community Health Worker Alliance (MiCHWA) stands in firm opposition to proposed federal cuts to Medicaid that would strip vital health care coverage from more than 700,000 Michiganders, gut state funding by billions, and destabilize the entire health care system, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
MiCHWA Executive Director Kareem J. Baig issued the following statement:
“Medicaid is the foundation of Michigan’s health care system, ensuring access to essential care for over 2.6 million residents, including children, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities. These proposed cuts are not just numbers on a spreadsheet, they represent lives interrupted, health care denied, and communities left behind.”
Under Executive Directive 2025-3, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) conducted an urgent analysis of Congressional proposals, revealing that:
- More than 700,000 residents enrolled in the Healthy Michigan Plan could lose coverage if the federal match rate drops from 90% to 65%, with no state alternative in place.
- Work requirements could lead to nearly 40% of adult Medicaid beneficiaries losing coverage, not because they are unwilling to work, but due to bureaucratic barriers and red tape.
- Hospitals face $2.33 billion in lost reimbursement, especially in small towns where they are both critical health care providers and major employers.
- Children are also at risk, with coverage losses expected due to paperwork issues when parents lose their own eligibility.
Baig emphasized: “Community Health Workers (CHWs) are on the frontlines, serving as the bridge between Michigan families and the care they need. There is a strong evidence base for the impact CHWs have in improving health outcomes, as well as access and use of health and social services among Medicaid participants and their communities. In recognition of this, we’ve seen a growing number of CHWs employed in settings such as health systems, federally qualified health centers, health departments, health plans, behavioral health organizations, and community-based organizations, and in 2024, MDHHS authorizing payment for CHW services.
Weakening Medicaid not only severs that bridge but also erodes decades of progress toward health equity, access, and economic stability.”
Since Michigan’s Medicaid expansion in 2014, uncompensated hospital care has fallen by 50%, and the uninsured rate has dropped to 5.4%. The expansion also created over 30,000 new jobs and generated $2.3 billion in annual personal income—tangible proof that Medicaid is a lifeline and an economic engine.
The proposed shift to block grants or per-capita funding caps would further erode flexibility, slash $13.4 billion in federal support, and cripple Michigan’s ability to respond to rising costs or new public health needs.
“These proposals risk dismantling the safety net for the very people we are called to serve, those facing the highest barriers to care. At MiCHWA, we stand with our partners across the state to protect Medicaid and demand that Congress put people over politics,” Baig concluded.
MiCHWA urges lawmakers at every level to reject these harmful proposals and instead work to strengthen Medicaid’s reach, equity, and efficiency. Michiganders deserve better, and so does the dedicated health workforce that supports them.
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