The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) today released a new report detailing the severe impact of proposed Medicaid cuts on health outcomes across the state — a development the Michigan Primary Care Association (MPCA) warns is putting vulnerable communities at even greater risk.
MPCA is the voice of 48 member health centers that provide healthcare through over 400 locations across the state and serve one in every 15 Michigan residents. Michigan’s health centers- sometimes called Federally Qualified Health Centers, Tribal Health Centers, or Urban Indian Organizations- are community-based health organizations that deliver comprehensive primary care and other medical services, dental care, behavioral health care, substance use care, vision care, and more for patients of all ages in rural, urban, and tribal communities across the state of Michigan. Health centers operate as mission-driven, non-profit healthcare providers serving areas and populations that experience recognized challenges accessing healthcare or having sufficient healthcare providers in their area.
On a statewide basis, patients who get their health insurance through Medicaid make up 51% of all Michigan health center patients. Health centers’ patient populations in Bay, Berrien, Calhoun, Cass, Genesee, Grand Traverse, Ingham, Jackson, Kent, Macomb, Monroe, Muskegon, Kalamazoo, Oakland, Saginaw, and Wayne counties could be particularly impacted by proposed changes to the Medicaid program. Health centers serve more adult Medicaid patients in those areas, and many potential Medicaid changes focus on adults.
Proposed changes to the Medicaid program could also negatively impact the stability of health center services. Health centers, which already operate on thin margins, now face even more difficult decisions about staffing, services, and facility operations. Without urgent action to restore and strengthen Medicaid coverage, MPCA warns that more clinics could be forced to scale back critical programs or even close their doors.
This would lead to worse health outcomes throughout the state, including:
- A measurable increase in emergency room visits for preventable conditions
- Decreased access to prenatal and maternal care in underserved areas
- Higher rates of untreated chronic illnesses, particularly diabetes and hypertension
- Financial instability for primary care providers serving low-income populations
“Our health centers are safety nets for their communities,” said MPCA CEO, Phillip Bergquist, “We need to protect Medicaid from cuts not only to keep Michiganders healthy but also to safeguard public health.”
Most of the resources that health centers have to serve their communities come from being reimbursed for the patient services they deliver, and statewide Medicaid makes up 63% of patient services revenue in health centers annually. Losing a meaningful portion of Medicaid revenue could jeopardize the sustainability of some health center services and locations for everyone, not only people who get their health insurance through Medicaid.
If enacted, adult work requirements could result in 52,000 Michigan health center patients who get their health insurance through Medicaid losing coverage and health centers seeing a reduction in revenue of around $38.3 million annually. For comparison, that revenue loss would be equivalent to losing 30% of the federal health center program funding Michigan health centers receive annually, endangering the availability of essential care for tens of thousands of people.
MPCA calls on lawmakers to protect Medicaid from cuts, which would have dire consequences for communities throughout Michigan.
For a copy of the MDHHS report or to arrange interviews with health center leaders impacted by the cuts, please contact Luke LaBenne at [email protected] or 517.827.0883.