DETROIT, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Medicaid has become a core health plan for the majority of Michigan’s counties, with 50 of Michigan’s 83 counties having more than 14 percent of the total population covered by the health care program.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050831/DEW011 )
As a result, the proposed Medicaid reductions being considered in Lansing will reduce overall revenue in all counties and adversely affect services and the local economy for many. Counties that rely heavily on Medicaid and counties where Medicaid is growing at the highest rates will be hurt by the cuts.
For all Michigan counties, the average percent of population enrolled with Medicaid is nearly 14 percent, according to a March 2005 report by the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency. Twenty counties have 18 percent or more of total population relying on Medicaid for health care services.
The attached map shows counties with higher than average enrollment and counties with lower than average enrollment.
The Michigan Department of Community Health reports unprecedented numbers of people relying on Medicaid for health care throughout the state.
Currently in Michigan, nearly one citizen in seven -- or 1.5 million people -- relies on Medicaid for health care services.
Based on the total amount of Medicaid support distributed in Michigan for patient care in 2004, more than $7 billion per year is spent on healthcare through the Medicaid program, with more than half this amount coming into Michigan from the federal government.
The largest benefit from these expenditures goes to counties with the highest Medicaid enrollments, where the revenue is needed, according to John R. Griffith, Patullo Collegiate Professor of Health Management & Policy at the University of Michigan. “These funds are often critical to sustaining the county’s healthcare as a whole, and, of course, the dollars are spent locally and generate benefit in the local economy,” he said.
The budget proposals under discussion in Lansing all contain significant cuts to the Medicaid program. The cuts reduce eligibility, reduce services and reduce payments to doctors, hospitals and other providers who serve Medicaid patients.
The net effect of the cuts will be to withdraw overall support for health care services in all counties, but especially those that have a high percentage of people enrolled with the health care program, Professor Griffith said. A substantial portion of the Medicaid cuts will eventually find their way into the cost of commercial health insurance paid for by area employers, making it more difficult for employers to offer health insurance and more difficult for people to buy health insurance themselves.
The March 2005 analysis by the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency reports that enrollment growth has universally affected counties across the State of Michigan, with double-digit percentage increases over the past five year period in all counties except one (Ontonagon). Medicaid growth in Michigan mirrors a trend that is apparent nationally. A study released by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured found that Medicaid enrollment in the 50 states increased by 30.6% between June 1999 and June 2003, an annual average growth of about 7%.
In addition, a recent report released by the Michigan Health and Hospital Association reveals that health care has become a major contributor to jobs in most counties. Healthcare is Michigan’s largest employer, ahead of the automakers. Of Michigan’s 83 counties, 58 counties have more than 1,000 people engaged in directly providing health care, for a total of 472,300 jobs statewide. Approximately 200,000 of these jobs are in the tri-county region that includes Oakland, Macomb and Wayne Counties.
“With high unemployment and shrinking employer-based coverage, investment in Medicaid is a prudent economic strategy for Michigan,” said Brian Peters, Senior VP, Advocacy, Michigan Health & Hospital Association. “Communities throughout Michigan need these jobs, and the people without jobs and health insurance need Medicaid,” Peters said.
Henry Ford Health System
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050831/DEW011PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT: Synthia Bryant of Henry Ford Health System, +1-313-874-4036
Web site: http://henryfordhealth.org/
