Michigan Launches Online Tool to Explain Medicaid Work Rules
Michigan has launched the Michigan Work and Exemptions Screening Tool (MI WEST), an online questionnaire that uses plain language to help Healthy Michigan Plan beneficiaries determine whether they must meet new 80-hour-a-month work requirements under the federal "One Big Beautiful Bill," qualify for an exemption, or need to take further steps to keep coverage. Developed by design firm Civilla and funded by a $385,000 grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, the tool is informational only and does not substitute for an official application or renewal. Nearly 650,000 Michiganders covered under the state's Medicaid expansion are affected, with work requirements set to begin in January and renewals moving from annual to twice yearly. Hospitals, including Hillsdale Hospital and Munson Health, have launched their own outreach, hotlines and navigator programs amid fears that beneficiaries unaware of new paperwork requirements could lose coverage.