Most states that have decided to expand their Medicaid programs under the federal Affordable Care Act started signing people up Tuesday.
But as The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Jake Neher reports, it’ll probably be weeks or months before low-wage Michiganders have the chance to enroll.
State health officials are still working to set up the program and get it approved by the federal government. The so-called “Healthy Michigan” plan is expected to extend Medicaid benefits to hundreds of thousands of low-income residents.
Angela Minicuci is with the state Department of Community Health. She says officials are still confident Washington will approve the program in time to have it up and running next spring.
“The federal government has been watching Michigan very closely,” she says. “They’re aware of the process that we went through and what our plan looks like. So we feel very confident in that.”
The Medicaid expansion will probably take effect in March or April of next year. But Minicuci says the state wants to start enrolling people as soon as possible. In the meantime, she says people should make sure they’ll be eligible for Medicaid by going to www.healthcare.gov.
