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Michigan Medicaid and the new work rules
Healthy Michigan Plan (HMP) — the ACA expansion group — and traditional Michigan Medicaid is run by Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). Michigan expanded Medicaid on April 1, 2014, which is why the new federal work requirement reaches this state — and why what you do before January 1, 2027 matters.
From January 1, 2027, most adults have to show 80 hours a month
The requirement applies to adults aged 19 to 64 covered through Medicaid expansion — around 649,191 people in Michigan. It is not only about paid work: study, job training, volunteering and a mix of them all count , and earning at least $580 a month satisfies it on its own.
MDHHS says it will check work/activity status using existing state data matches (such as wage and unemployment insurance records) where possible before requiring enrollees to submit documentation themselves, consistent with the CMS interim final rule's emphasis on automated verification.
If your hours swing from month to month, say so. The rule is written per month, which is the wrong shape for farm and fishing work, construction, tourism and seasonal retail — a good month and a dead month average out to a living, but the dead month is the one that fails. Federal law has a provision for exactly this: a seasonal worker can satisfy the requirement using their average monthly income over the previous six months instead of hours worked in the month being checked. It is at 42 CFR 435.552(a)(7), and the law defines who counts as seasonal by pointing at the tax code rather than listing jobs, so do not decide for yourself that it misses you. If your work is seasonal or your hours are irregular, tell the state that when you report, and ask for the six-month average to be used.
You do not have to prove anything if any of these describe you
Exemptions are meant to be applied by the state automatically from records it already holds, but records are imperfect. If one of these fits you and you still get asked to report hours, say so and ask them to check — don't assume the notice is right.
What you can earn and still qualify
Monthly income, before tax, for the whole household. These are the state's own published figures, which is what its caseworkers actually apply. If you are close to a line, apply anyway — some income does not count, and only the agency can run the calculation for your situation.
Adults 19 to 64133% of the poverty line
- 1 person
- $1,835
- 2 people
- $2,489
- 3 people
- $3,142
- 4 people
- $3,795
- 5 people
- $4,448
- 6 people
- $5,101
Source: MDHHS Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Manual and Bridges Eligibility Manual (BEM) 137/211, 2026 Federal Poverty Levels effective April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027; monthly dollar figures corroborated by county-level eligibility charts (Washtenaw Health Project, Genesee Health Plan) that republish the MDHHS FPL table. A note on precision: Some non-official secondary sources (e. We publish the state figure.
Two other changes land on the same day
Renewals get more frequent, and back-dated coverage gets shorter.
P.L. 119-21 §71112, amending 42 U.S.C. §1396a(a)(34). Applies to applications submitted on or after January 1, 2027.
Michigan has a law that could put expansion at risk if federal funding falls
Coverage here is tied by statute to how much the federal government pays.
MCL 400.105d (Social Welfare Act provisions governing the Healthy Michigan Plan, as amended by 2023 PA 98). By January 15 of each year, the state budget office must calculate whether cumulative state and local government savings attributable to the Healthy Michigan Plan equal or exceed the additional cost the state would bear if the federal matching rate for the expansion population fell. If savings do not meet or exceed that cost, the department must suspend new enrollment and may end coverage for the expansion group — but only through the end of that fiscal year, not permanently.
This is a materially 'softer' trigger than some other expansion states' laws: it depends on an annually recalculated state savings test tied to a state budget-office finding, not an automatic cutoff the moment a federal matching percentage crosses a fixed line. It has never been triggered since 2014. H.R. 1's federal funding changes could eventually affect the underlying savings calculation, but no MDHHS or state budget office report has projected a shortfall.
On the books and unexercised. The required annual budget-office savings report has not shown a shortfall that would require suspending the program.
Nothing has changed, and this is not a reason to delay applying. It is a reason to keep your contact details current, open everything the state sends, and not assume coverage renews itself.
Do this now
Update your address and phone number first. Everything about the new rules arrives by mail, and a stale address is the most common reason people lose coverage they are still entitled to. Then check whether an exemption applies to you.
About the phone numbers: Published hours for the Beneficiary Help Line are not fully consistent across MDHHS pages — one page states Mon–Fri 8 a.m.–7 p.m., another MDHHS PDF implies shorter hours for a related line. Call during normal business hours to be safe, and confirm current hours on the MDHHS beneficiary support page before relying on an evening call.
Deaf, hard of hearing or speech-impaired: 1-866-501-5656.
The online MI Bridges application itself is offered in English, Spanish and Arabic. Free interpreters in other languages are available by phone through the MDHHS Beneficiary Help Line, and sign-language interpreters are available on request for Deaf and hard-of-hearing residents.
Most people who lose coverage lose it over paperwork, not eligibility
Nationally, most people who lose Medicaid lose it over paperwork rather than because they stopped qualifying. From January 1, 2027 that matters more, not less.
NOTICE OF ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION
Case number: ███████
Date of this notice: 1January 12, 2027
Our records do not show that you met the community engagement requirement for the reporting period.
2If you believe this is incorrect, or if an exemption applies to you, contact us on or before February 11, 2027.
3Coverage for other members of your household is not affected by this notice.
What the federal data says about coverage here
Public federal data describes how each state runs its program. Almost all of it is written for policy analysts. Here is what those numbers mean if you are the person enrolled.
Coverage here runs through private health plans rather than the state paying providers directly. You pick a plan, and your plan decides your network.
Check your doctor is in the plan before you choose it.
Questions people ask about this
Do the new Medicaid work rules apply to me in Michigan?
How many hours a month do I have to work?
Who is exempt from the work requirement in Michigan?
When do the Michigan work rules start?
What is the income limit for Michigan Medicaid?
How do I apply for Healthy Michigan Plan (HMP) — the ACA expansion group — and traditional Michigan Medicaid?
How often do I have to renew Michigan Medicaid?
Guides for neighboring states
The rules change completely at the state line. If you moved recently, or you're helping family somewhere else, start with their state rather than this one.
The 80-hour-a-month work requirement starting January 1, 2027 is a new federal rule, not a repeat of the Michigan-specific work requirement that courts struck down in 2020 — it has its own exemption list covering parents of young children, pregnant people, the medically frail and several other groups, with no exemption for homelessness.
Healthy Michigan Plan members will also start renewing their coverage every six months instead of once a year, so keeping your address and contact information current in MI Bridges now is the best way to avoid losing coverage to paperwork rather than actual ineligibility.
Updating your address takes two minutes and protects everything else. Do that first, then check the exemption list above.
Go to MI Bridges (newmibridges.michigan.gov) →