Dems Host Busy Townhall On What Happens Next With Medicaid Reforms

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 07/07/2025) (TROY) – Four Democratic lawmakers representing parts of Oakland County spoke to a filled room about the Medicaid reforms recently signed by President Donald Trump Monday evening.

They predicted heightened administrative costs resulting in services and enrollees being dropped unintentionally, as well as the state having to create new revenue to cover funding losses.

The four Democrats included Reps. Sharon MacDonnel (D-Troy) and Natalie Price (D-Berkley), as well as Sens. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) and Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), a 2026 candidate for the U.S. Senate.

The event was held in the Troy Community Center, with more than 110 people inside the room.

Also on their panel were Royal Oak Schools Superintendent Mary Beth Fitzpatrick, Chief

Operating Officer Jamie Bragg-Lovejoy of the Michigan Assisted Living Association (MALA) and Lauren Baker, a public policy specialist for the Disability Network Eastern Michigan. Kellie Dobner, Samaritas' chief growth officer, spoke as well.

"Our association is currently evaluating the impact of the Medicaid cuts in Michigan, even if most funding reductions do not directly impact home and community-based services. The behavioral health system is facing immense pressure which makes it harder for providers to deliver care," Bragg-Lovejoy said.

Citizens gather at a town hall over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Bragg-Lovejoy explained how Medicaid funds personal care services that MALA's members provide, such as bathing, eating, assistance with using the toilet and giving medications.

But for employees responsible for direct care services, she explained, 87 percent of MALA members have turned down referrals due to a lack of staff, with Michigan experiencing a staff turnover of 39 percent. She added that their starting wages, on average, are around $16, and "many" have left the field for higher paychecks in retail and fast food.

As for what the Republican-led Congress and Trump approved late last week, it sets a 20-hour weekly work requirement for Medicaid enrollees who are "able-bodied adults without young children." In what Republicans have titled the "One Big Beautiful Bill," work can include volunteer, education and job training programs.

Additionally, it reduces from three months to one month the period of time providers can be reimbursed with Medicaid before a patient becomes officially enrolled.

The Trump-signed "One Big Beautiful Bill" mandates that states verify whether Medicaid coverage should be renewed every six months or more frequently, instead of Michigan's present-day annual checkups.

"What we know is that Medicaid work requirements are prohibitively expensive and will add millions upon millions of dollars to administrative costs to our state. The Medicaid work requirements that … our Michigan Democrats, we repealed those," McMorrow said, referencing last term in Lansing. "Even if you are working, you better believe that it is going to be significantly harder to fill out paperwork."

McMorrow projects that even one incorrect letter will result in beneficiaries suddenly being kicked off Medicaid.

She noted that the work requirements won't become effective until after 2026, and what she sees as some of the bill's "worst aspects" won't be deployed until 2028.

"People may not feel the effects immediately, and that's intentional," McMorrow said. "But what we're seeing already happen is that rural hospitals, birthing centers, nursing homes … who have to plan their budgets potentially years in advance, are already sounding the alarm on the fact that they will have to cut staff, they will have to cut services and many will have to close their doors."

Chang said there is no way the state can fully back-fill cuts to the Medicaid funding it receives. She thinks one of the things the state government will really need to look at is what types of new revenue legislators will be willing to create and that the public can support.

"We just have to," she said. "We … should not cut our way to funding what a certain party thinks is a priority or what a certain stakeholder thinks is a priority. We actually really need to talk."

When asked who in the room was a Medicaid recipient, less than a dozen attendees raised their hands. However, nearly every other attendee raised their hand when asked who has a loved one receiving Medicaid benefits.

As legal challenges against the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" are expected to rise, Price has legislation she's working on that, if federal courts deem a cut to be unconstitutional, the state could withhold tax money that would be passed onto the federal government.

"Instead of passing it along, keeping it here to fund those essential services," Price said. "We intend for our tax money to stay here in Michigan to keep essential services to protect our people as much as possible."