Gov. Rick Snyder gained a big win, but it wasn't easy.
On its second try, senators voted 20-18 to expand Michigan’s Medicaid program -- the governor's top legislative goal this year. Conservatives and tea party groups opposed it vehemently.
Michigan's Medicaid expansion "will save money for the state’s taxpayers and job providers, help control medical costs, improve the state’s business climate and boost our economy," Gov. Rick Snyder says after Senate passage.
Eight Republicans and all 12 Democrats in the Senate voted for expansion. The measure now returns to the House, which passed the bill in June with support from 28 Republicans and all Democrats. It's expected to send it to Snyder next Tuesday for his signature.
Kathleen Gray of the Free Press reports on Tuesday's drama:
It took two votes and eight hours of mostly closed-door politicking and vote wrangling, but the state Senate approved a plan late Tuesday to expand Medicaid health care coverage to 470,000 low-income Michiganders.
The historic 20-18 vote makes Michigan the 25th state in the nation to go ahead with the Medicaid expansion as part of the federal Affordable Care Act.
A Metro Detroit senator initially blocked passage.
The plan almost fell apart when Sen. Patrick Colbeck, R-Canton, decided not to vote the first time the bill came up, leaving it with a 19-18 tally, one vote shy of passage. A bill needs 20 votes to pass. . . .
Several hours later, an amendment was offered and Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, switched his no vote to a yes, giving it a winning 20-18 margin. The amendment basically says that hospitals can’t charge Medicaid patients more than 115% of what they charge Medicare patients.
Other changes made earlier shift some of coverage costs to the recipients.
Once passed again by the House and signed by Snyder, the law will take effect next April.
In a statement (video below), Snyder says it "will make our state healthier and stronger. It also will save money for the state’s taxpayers and job providers, help control medical costs, improve the state’s business climate and boost our economy."
Senators voting no object to what they call Obamacare. “Is now the time in our nation’s history to expand federal government entitlement spending?” asked Sen. John Moolenaar, R-Midland, according to Gray's article.
