Democrats removed the work requirement to participate in the MDHHS Healthy Michigan Plan because they expect that a 2020 federal judge's ruling against such work requirements may be overturned.  Governor Whitmer signed H.B. 4224 into law.  It becomes P.A. 253 of 2024:

https://www.mlive.com/politics/2025/01/michigan-will-eliminate-medicaid-work-requirements.html

Michigan will eliminate Medicaid work requirements
By Michael Kransz • January 29, 2025

Michigan will soon eliminate an inactive requirement that able-bodied adults receiving Medicaid must work.

The bill removing that requirement was signed into law Jan. 21 by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after passing in the House and Senate in December along party lines, with Democrats in favor. The law will take effect April 2.

“The repeal of the burdensome work requirements provision is a win for Michiganders who cannot afford commercial health insurance,” said bill sponsor state Rep. Julie Rogers, D-Kalamazoo. “Medicaid is health care, period, and was never intended to be a jobs program. Timely access to affordable medical care, including preventative screenings, prioritizes the wellbeing of our communities, saves our state money and avoids costly emergency room visits.”

The work requirements had mandated that able-bodied adults receiving Medicaid under the Healthy Michigan Plan complete 20 hours per week, or 80 hours per month, of “workforce engagement,” such as working or going to school.

Although the requirement hasn’t been in effect since a federal judge ruled it illegal in 2020, Republicans had hoped the Supreme Court would overturn the ruling and allow the work requirements to be reinstated.

The work requirements were passed by Republican lawmakers in 2018 under former Gov. Rick Snyder. It was only in effect for a few months before the federal ruling struck it down.

Some Republicans argued that those receiving public assistance should be required to work. State Rep. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock, previously said that while most do work, some need an “extra push” provided by the requirements.

According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, there are about 711,000 Healthy Michigan Plan recipients around the state. The plan is for people ages 19 to 64 years with a household income below 133% of the federal poverty guideline.

According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, there are about 711,000 Healthy Michigan Plan recipients around the state.

“Given recent changes in federal leadership, this will help beneficiaries, who cannot work, keep their benefits and care,” Rogers said. “New parents and other marginalized groups will be able to rest easier knowing that Michigan takes their safety — both physical and mental — as well as the safety of their newborn seriously.”

Pregnant mothers, people with disabilities, caretakers of disabled dependents, caretakers of children under age 6, and individuals who have a medical condition that results in a work limitation were all exempt from the work requirements.

Michigan Democrat backlash predictably anticipated federal work requirements proposed in the One Big Beautiful Bill, now signed into law.

MichCapCon documents the drama.

https://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/michigan-house-rep-overstates-possible-impact-of-work-requirement?_hsmi=369771201

Michigan House rep overstates possible impact of work requirement

Number in dispute, some praise requirements for Medicaid

By John LaPlante    |   July 1, 2025

As Congress debates a budget bill that could impose work requirements on certain people who receive Medicaid, a member of the Michigan House released a comment that significantly overstated its possible impact.

“Republican cuts will strip away health care for 730,435 Michiganders in WAYNE County,” reads the meme that Rep. Stephanie Young, D-Detroit, posted on Facebook on June 26 and the House Democratic Caucus reposted several hours later. Young cited the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which administers Medicaid in the state.

But only 724,528 Wayne County residents receive Medicaid benefits of any form, according to the state health department’s May 2025 Green Book, and only 206,114 could be subject to a work requirement. The requirement is one of several changes the bill would make to Medicaid. Another change in the bill would limit the provider tax, which 22 states, including Michigan, use to increase their spending on Medicaid.

The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) encouraged states to expand the pool of residents who could participate in Medicaid. In the Great Lakes State, “Healthy Michigan” offers taxpayer-supplied health insurance for what is commonly known as “Medicaid expansion” residents.

Under the budget bill being discussed in Congress, states would have to impose work requirements on the Medicaid expansion population. It also, though, provides exemptions for caregivers of young children, the medically frail and other groups. Work requirements could be met by volunteer work or training.

In Wayne County, 206,114 people are enrolled in Healthy Michigan. Statewide enrollment stands at 722,275, or 8,160 less than the number Young cited for Wayne County alone. Some 1.9 million state residents are in Medicaid, either through Healthy Michigan or in Medicaid’s original form.

The state health department said in Executive Directive 2025-3 that work requirements would cause 100,000 to 512,000 people in Michigan to lose their Medicaid benefits — less than the number Young claimed for Wayne County. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also said that thousands will be harmed, issuing claims of lost coverage in several congressional districts.

The Foundation for Government Accountability, a Florida-based think tank, says that work requirements are needed to keep Medicaid on track. “Obamacare expansion opened the door to a new class of able-bodied adults,” it writes, “leading to massive cost and enrollment overruns.”

“With no work requirements in place, the program encourages dependency and siphons resources away from the truly needy,” it adds.

A work requirement in Arkansas did not cause the number of uninsured to rise, the organization said in a separate report, and only 13% of those who lost their Medicaid benefits did so because they did not find work.

A separate organization cautions that any projections are premature. “To date, there is little history for Medicaid work requirements since virtually all of these reforms are held up in court,” Niklas Kleinworth of the Virginia-based Paragon Health Institute told Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email.

The Healthy Michigan program does not have work requirements.

Rep. Young did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

Editor’s note: As of July 2, the meme no longer appears on Rep. Young’s Facebook page or on the Facebook page of the House Democratic Caucus.