LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – Michigan Democrats and health care advocates are warning that rising insurance costs, Medicaid reductions and pressure on rural hospitals could deepen a growing health care affordability crisis across the state.
During a Tuesday press call hosted by the Democratic-aligned advocacy group Defend America Action and Protect Our Care Michigan, lawmakers pointed to a newly released report arguing that recent Republican-backed federal health care policies are driving up costs and reducing coverage for Michiganders.
The report, titled “Trump and Republicans Are Making Health Care Unaffordable for Michiganders,” is openly partisan and repeatedly blames President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans for Medicaid funding reductions and the expiration of Affordable Care Act tax credits. Still, several of the broader trends highlighted in the report, including rising ACA premiums, Medicaid enrollment losses, and financial strain on rural hospitals, have also been documented by independent health policy organizations.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell said constituents across Michigan are increasingly worried about both affordability and access to care.
“People are really hurting right now,” Dingell said. “People in Michigan are scared. They’re worried that they are going to have to choose between their insulin and their rent.”
Dingell said concerns are especially acute in rural communities where hospitals and specialty services have become harder to access.
“Young women who are getting pregnant are worried,” Dingell said. “We’ve closed 10 OB-GYN lines in Michigan just this year alone.”
State Rep. Carrie Rheingans said the state is also feeling the effects of federal cuts to public health and medical research programs, including reductions tied to National Institutes of Health funding.
“We’ve been seeing cuts and attacks on our public health system,” Rheingans said during the call.
State Rep. Matt Longjohn, a physician and member of the House Appropriations Committee, said Michigan’s health care system was already struggling with rising costs before the latest federal changes.
“Expectations are that in Michigan, between 200, maybe as many as 350,000 Michiganders are at risk for losing coverage because specifically of HR1,” Longjohn said, referring to the federal budget legislation Republicans have promoted as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Longjohn said the state may now have to absorb billions of dollars in shifted costs while balancing its own budget requirements.
“We start this year’s budget situation with an estimated one-and-a-half, maybe as high as $1.8 billion in those cost shifts from the federal budget to the state budget,” he said.
State Rep. Stephen Wooden warned the impact could extend beyond Medicaid recipients.
“We’re going to be paying more money for less care so that the rich can get another damn tax cut they don’t need,” Wooden said.
The report estimates Michigan could lose nearly $3 billion in federal Medicaid funding by 2029 and claims more than 30,000 Michiganders have already dropped or lost ACA marketplace coverage this year.
Advocates also warned rural hospitals could face increasing financial instability, particularly in the Upper Peninsula and other medically underserved regions.
Republicans nationally have defended the Medicaid and spending changes as necessary reforms intended to reduce federal spending, tighten eligibility requirements, and address long-term budget concerns.
