Michigan House rep overstates possible impact of work requirement

As Congress debates a budget bill that could impose work requirements on certain people who receive Medicaid, a member of the Michigan House released a comment that significantly overstated its possible impact.

“Republican cuts will strip away health care for 730,435 Michiganders in WAYNE County,” reads the meme that Rep. Stephanie Young, D-Detroit, posted on Facebook on June 26 and the House Democratic Caucus reposted several hours later. Young cited the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which administers Medicaid in the state.

But only 724,528 Wayne County residents receive Medicaid benefits of any form, according to the state health department’s May 2025 Green Book, and only 206,114 could be subject to a work requirement. The requirement is one of several changes the bill would make to Medicaid. Another change in the bill would limit the provider tax, which 22 states, including Michigan, use to increase their spending on Medicaid.

The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) encouraged states to expand the pool of residents who could participate in Medicaid. In the Great Lakes State, “Healthy Michigan” offers taxpayer-supplied health insurance for what is commonly known as “Medicaid expansion” residents.

Under the budget bill being discussed in Congress, states would have to impose work requirements on the Medicaid expansion population. It also, though, provides exemptions for caregivers of young children, the medically frail and other groups. Work requirements could be met by volunteer work or training.

In Wayne County, 206,114 people are enrolled in Healthy Michigan. Statewide enrollment stands at 722,275, or 8,160 less than the number Young cited for Wayne County alone. Some 1.9 million state residents are in Medicaid, either through Healthy Michigan or in Medicaid’s original form.

The state health department said in Executive Directive 2025-3 that work requirements would cause 100,000 to 512,000 people in Michigan to lose their Medicaid benefits — less than the number Young claimed for Wayne County. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also said that thousands will be harmed, issuing claims of lost coverage in several congressional districts.

The Foundation for Government Accountability, a Florida-based think tank, says that work requirements are needed to keep Medicaid on track. “Obamacare expansion opened the door to a new class of able-bodied adults,” it writes, “leading to massive cost and enrollment overruns.”

“With no work requirements in place, the program encourages dependency and siphons resources away from the truly needy,” it adds.

A work requirement in Arkansas did not cause the number of uninsured to rise, the organization said in a separate report, and only 13% of those who lost their Medicaid benefits did so because they did not find work.

A separate organization cautions that any projections are premature. “To date, there is little history for Medicaid work requirements since virtually all of these reforms are held up in court,” Niklas Kleinworth of the Virginia-based Paragon Health Institute told Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email.

The Healthy Michigan program does not have work requirements.

Rep. Young did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

Editor’s note: As of July 2, the meme no longer appears on Rep. Young’s Facebook page or on the Facebook page of the House Democratic Caucus.