Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE NEW IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • COVID-19
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Digital Health
  • Insights
    • ACA 10 Years After
    • Best Practices
    • Special Reports
    • Innovations
  • Data/Lists
    • Rankings/Lists
    • Interactive Databases
    • Data Points
  • Op-Ed
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Awards
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
    • Women in Healthcare
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
    • - Leaders to Watch
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Women Leaders
    • - Women to Watch
  • Events
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Custom Media Event: ESG Summit
    • Transformation Summit
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Strategic Marketing
    • - Virtual Health
  • Listen
    • Podcast - Next Up
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • MORE +
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Medicaid
January 31, 2020 11:00 AM

Medicaid expansion linked to employment rate growth in Michigan

Harris Meyer
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Modern Healthcare Illustration / Getty Images

    Medicaid expansion enrollees in Michigan increased their rate of employment or student status at a significantly higher rate than the rest of the state's population in 2017, the latest evidence on the benefits of expansion under the Affordable Care Act.

    The percentage of expansion enrollees who had jobs or were enrolled in school rose six percentage points in one year, while the rate for other state residents remained flat, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open.

    The survey, conducted by University of Michigan researchers, found that 60% of expansion enrollees were employed or students in 2017, compared with 54% in 2016. Non-Hispanic black enrollees and people whose incomes were less than one-third of the federal poverty level had even larger increases in employment or student status—11 and 9 percentage points, respectively.

    By comparison, the general Michigan population had a steady 75% rate of employment or school enrollment from 2016 to 2017.

    Experts said the results call into question Michigan's new policy, starting this month, of requiring expansion enrollees to report work or "community engagement" activities as a condition of receiving Medicaid expansion coverage.

    They argue that receiving health coverage and needed care puts people in a better position to find jobs or go to school to prepare for work, as opposed to policies threatening to take away their healthcare if they do not get jobs.

    "This study suggests states that want to increase employment among low-income adults might consider Medicaid as a way to support people who want to work, rather than seeing Medicaid as a barrier to work," said Dr. Benjamin Sommers, a health policy professor at Harvard University who studies Medicaid.

    Trump administration officials and Michigan Republican leaders have argued the opposite—that receiving Medicaid reduces people's motivation to work, and that requiring them to work is the best way to improve their health and wellbeing.

    The new JAMA Network Open paper is consistent with a large and growing body of research showing that Medicaid expansion is associated with a wide range of benefits, including increased coverage, service use, quality of care and federal and state Medicaid spending.

    The University of Michigan researchers surveyed more than 3,000 low-income adults who qualified for the Healthy Michigan Plan, with a response rate of 53.7% to the initial survey and 83.4% to the follow-up survey.

    They found similar employment or school attendance gains for both those still enrolled in Medicaid in 2017 and those no longer enrolled.

    People who left Medicaid may already have experienced health improvements and had better ability to get a job, said Dr. Renuka Tipineni, a University of Michigan assistant professor who was the lead author of the study.

    "Our hypothesis is that the ability to access care, get diagnoses, and manage chronic conditions has led enrollees to have improved functioning in employment and school attendance," Tipineni said in an interview.

    For Michiganders who were extremely poor and who showed sharp increases in employment or school status, receiving Medicaid was especially beneficial, said Leighton Ku, a health policy professor at George Washington University.

    "Some may have worried that getting a job might cause them to lose their insurance, since so many low-wage or part-time jobs lack health benefits," he said. "Having Medicaid may help dispel that worry and encourage people to find work."

    Earlier this month, Michigan started requiring more than 270,000 of the nearly 524,000 expansion enrollees to file monthly reports on whether they are spending 80 hours a month working or participating in community engagement activities.

    If enrollees do not meet the work or reporting requirements, they can lose coverage starting May 1, 2020. A Manatt Health study projected that tens of thousands of Michiganders could lose coverage under the program.

    Sommers said the new JAMA Network Open study suggests that "Medicaid itself can increase self-sufficiency without the red tape and administrative hassle of work requirements."

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    mom_with_baby_getty_i.jpg
    States extend Medicaid for new mothers — even as they reject broader expansion
    Medicaid weighs attaching strings to nursing home payments to improve patient care
    Medicaid weighs attaching strings to nursing home payments to improve patient care
    Sponsored Content
    Daily Dose Newsletter: Sign up to receive a late afternoon weekday roundup of that day’s breaking news and developments in healthcare.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • COVID-19
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Digital Health
    • Insights
      • ACA 10 Years After
      • Best Practices
      • Special Reports
      • Innovations
    • Data/Lists
      • Rankings/Lists
      • Interactive Databases
      • Data Points
    • Op-Ed
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Awards
      • Nominate/Eligibility
      • 100 Most Influential People
      • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
      • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
      • Excellence in Governance
      • Health Care Hall of Fame
      • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
      • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
      • Top 25 Innovators
      • Diversity in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
        • - Leaders to Watch
      • Women in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Women Leaders
        • - Women to Watch
    • Events
      • Conferences
        • Transformation Summit
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Leadership Symposium
      • Galas
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Strategic Marketing
        • - Virtual Health
      • Webinars
      • Custom Media Event: ESG Summit
    • Listen
      • Podcast - Next Up
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • MORE +
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing