Michigan Medicaid to expand to include pregnant women and children with green cards

By Elle Myers / August 24, 2023

LANSING, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - At the beginning of the next fiscal year, certain immigrants who have been granted green cards will also have access to Medicaid in Michigan. 

One advocate estimates the change will impact only about 3,000 people in Michigan.

Not all green card holders will have access to Medicaid, as there will still be a five-year waiting period for many.

"People who get their green cards through family or through employment or several other methods do face that five-year waiting period for eligibility for Medicaid," said Susan Reed, executive director of Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. 

The change in Michigan is an expansion to include pregnant mothers and children with green cards. 

"It's a very big deal for those 3,000 to know exactly where and how they're going to get high-quality coverage," Reed said. "These are many folks, families who are essential workers in critical industries or families who are struggling just after finally getting those green cards and getting that immigration process done. It will be a huge relief to them."

The majority of the funding for this expansion is coming from federal dollars. 

"The federal contribution on this expansion will be about $19 million, actually about $20 million. And the state contribution will be about $6.5 million in terms of the way it's budgeted," she said. 

Reed says she sees this trade-off as a good investment for Michigan and one that other states are already using. 

"We were one of only 15 states that had not expanded this access," she said. "It just makes so much sense with the leveraging of the federal dollars and the great value that investing in children's health and prenatal care is from a long-term health care spending perspective."

Chelsea Wuth, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement that the department is working to implement this change in the next fiscal year, which begins October 1.