Updates About Health Insurance

On May 11, 2023, the first testimony-only hearing was held on HB 4071, a bill that would prohibit health insurers from applying financial requirements that are more restrictive on oral chemotherapies than they do for IV chemotherapies. Stakeholders including the Michigan Society of Hematology and Oncology, the American Cancer Society, the Michigan State Medical Society, and Leukemia and Lymphoma Society supported the legislation’s passage and urged the committee to take swift action.

The bill sponsor, Representative Samantha Steckloff [D- Farmington Hills] gave the most powerful testimony, as hers was personal. Representative Steckloff is a breast cancer survivor and champion of oral chemotherapy parity as she herself must take an oral chemotherapy drug. A week after the first testimony-only hearing, House bill 4071 was voted out of the House Health Policy Committee by a vote of 14-3, and now awaits action on the House floor.

Starting this spring, Medicaid beneficiaries nationwide will begin having to renew their coverage once again. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, certain Medicaid requirements were temporarily waived, and determinations of eligibility were paused.

Due to the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) ending on May 11, Medicaid beneficiaries will be removed from the program if they are no longer eligible. Thousands of people may lose coverage and seniors who would normally automatically transition from Medicaid to Medicare may have missed the Medicare Supplement open enrollment window.

The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) is making sure Michigan residents stay covered as Medicaid redeterminations resume. DIFS is outlining Medicare enrollment opportunities for seniors, now having increased opportunities to enroll in Medicare once their Medicaid coverage ends. DIFS also issued an order allowing individuals eligible for Medicare to enroll in a supplement plan regardless of health status or age. This will ensure eligible seniors will receive appropriate coverage and not pay more because of their health status, medical history, or timing of their Medicare enrollment.

On Thursday March 30, a federal judge in Texas ruled to overturn a portion of the Affordable Care Act in Braidwood Management. Inc. v. Becerra. This decision struck down the requirement that makes preventive services and screenings covered by health insurers with no additional cost to the patient. Services like screenings for cancer, heart disease, and high blood pressure could become costly, diminish access to affordable early detection, and put people’s health at risk.

Following this decision, Governor Whitmer directed the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DFIS) to protect Michigan families and ensure access to no-cost preventive healthcare services. This decision in Braidwood Management. Inc. v. Becerra is however being appealed by the US Department of Justice.

On Thursday April 6, Governor Whitmer announced that insurers who represent 100% of the fully insured health insurance market will continue to cover no-cost preventive services for Michigan residents.