Courtesy Photo In April, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services led a roundtable in Cadillac to discuss the potential effects of proposed Medicaid cuts.

ALPENA — Meghan Groen, chief deputy director for Health Services for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) joined a Medicaid funding briefing to discuss proposed federal cuts and what that means for Michigan residents.

Groen began the briefing by reiterating that there are only proposed cuts at the federal level, and no cuts have currently been rolled out.

“As of today, Medicaid beneficiaries continue to have the same access to health care and providers should continue to serve them knowing that they can bill for those services just like they have for years,” Groen said in the briefing. “However, at the federal level, Congress is currently debating an $880 billion cut in Medicaid savings as part of its reconciliation bill.”

The first proposed cut that Groen discussed was for federal matching rates.

“States were encouraged to expand Medicaid to reduce uncompensated care in hospitals and increase the use of preventive and primary care to reduce the cost of health care overall,” Groen said. “In 2014, Michigan did just that. And today, we provide access to health care for over 750,000 people through the Healthy Michigan Plan.”

According to Groen, the proposed federal matching rate cut would lead to a $1.1 billion impact to Michigan. Additionally, Groen said that the federal government is proposing a cut to administrative match rates that she says will cost the state $115 million.

The second proposed cut that Groen discussed was to Medicaid Work Requirements. According to Groen, 60% of people on a Healthy Michigan Plan are employed, students, homemakers, and may be medically frail.

“Studies reported the Healthy Michigan plan had a positive impact on beneficiaries’ employment and job seeking ability,” Groen said.

Groen said that when the MDHHS implemented work requirements for those enrolled in Healthy Michigan Plans, it terminated coverage for 80,000 people. This estimate jumps to over half a million if work requirements are required across the entire program.”

The third proposed cut Groen discussed was provider tax reforms. Currently, 20% of the state’s non-federal Medicaid funding is generated through provider taxes, according to Groen. Through tax reforms, Groen estimates that 20% of Michigan’s non-federal Medicaid funding is generated through provider taxes.

The fourth proposed cut Groen discussed is a per capita cap. Groen said this would limit federal funding to a fixed amount per Medicaid enrollee.

“Medicaid is currently an entitlement program wherein states must cover all eligible individuals and the federal government must provide the federal share of funding of the costs that provide that coverage,” Groen said. “Currently, states receive open-ending federal matching rates that can be leveraged both to support agreed upon health services, but also innovations to achieve better health outcomes and inturn reduce costs.”

Further, Groen said that MDHHS is unsure what the per capita cut would actually entail so they estimated anywhere from $4 billion to $13 billion in Medicaid loss in the next 10 years.

Though Groen urged Michigan residents to speak to representatives and senators about the danger of these proposed Medicaid cuts, Congressman Jack Bergman, R-Watermeet, told The News last month why the cuts are being discussed and why they are necessary. He also said that those who need the assistance and qualify for the assistance should not worry about federal cuts.

“We want to make sure where we are spending and where we need to make cuts so we can get the savings we need to redirect the savings into the programs that need it, such as Medicaid, Medicare, and to those who need it,” Bergman said. “However, if you are receiving a freebie from the government that you don’t need, chances are you aren’t going to get it. But, if you are in that population that needs it, you’ll be just fine.”