Six Republicans and Counting: Michigan Governor Snyder to Support Medicaid Expansion

At a news conference this afternoon, Michigan’s Republican governor Rick Snyder is said to be throwing is support behind the federal expansion of Medicaid in his state, according to an article published this afternoon in the Detroit Free Press. If he endorses the expansion, Snyder would join the ranks of five other GOP governors who favor Medicaid expansion in their states.

According to the Free Press, if expansion is approved by the Michigan state legislature, approximately “470,000 more uninsured low-income Michiganders to be covered by Medicaid.”

The article also quotes Marianne Udow-Phillips, director of the Ann Arbor-based Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation. The group supplied research to the Snyder’s office.

“CHRT concluded Michigan would save more than $1 billion in the next ten years as the federal government picks up the cost for health care for those who currently are not covered by insurance,” the article says.

“What’s really powerful about this is that the governor did come at this from a very objective, analytical approach,” she said. “He looked at the facts, he pulled research from our center and … lots of people,” Udow-Phillips said. “I don’t want to say we’re surprised, but we’re very pleased that the facts did speak for themselves.”