Although electoral votes in Michigan went to Democrats in all presidential elections from 1992 to 2012, the state participated in the lawsuit that challenged the Affordable Care Act. Despite this, they did opt to expand Medicaid according to ACA guidelines.
Enrollment through the Years
Michigan residents enroll in individual health plans through the federal marketplace. About 20,000 fewer people enrolled in a marketplace plan in 2017 than in 2015. The highest year of participation was 2016, but the numbers took a sharp dip in 2017, perhaps related to the political turmoil that surrounded the 2016 presidential election and its results.
- 341,183 Michiganders enrolled in 2015
- 345,813 Michiganders enrolled in 2016
- 321,451 Michiganders enrolled in 2017
In 2017, 84,798 enrollees were new to marketplace health plans. The remaining 236,653 Michiganders who signed up for marketplace health insurance plans were returning to the exchanges from a previous year. Michigan participants tend to be older. The age demographic most represented among enrollees is the 55-64 bracket.
Michigan chose to expand Medicaid according to ACA guidelines. This opened Medicaid coverage to those earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty limit. As of 2017, roughly 636,800 Michiganders have enrolled as a result of expansion.
Cost Assistance
Those who earn between 100 and 400 of the federal poverty limit are eligible for financial assistance that comes in the form of federal subsidies to reduce premium costs. About 81 percent of Michigan enrollees benefited from these subsidies in 2017.
An additional form of assistance provided by the ACA is cost-sharing reductions (CSRs). These are available to people who earn up to 250 percent of the federal poverty limit and select a silver-level plan. In 2017, 49 percent of Michiganders who signed up for a plan qualified for CSRs.
Carrier Participation & Plan Availability
Ten insurance providers participated in the marketplace in Michigan in 2017. In 2018, at least three carriers will offer marketplace plans on the exchange. There were 3,664 health insurance plans offered in Michigan through the marketplace in 2017. Plans vary from county to county, meaning not every plan is available to every exchange customer across the state.
