Top officials in Gov. Rick Snyder's administration say it could cost Michigan up to $800 million a year to keep the state's Medicaid expansion program at current enrollment levels if cuts approved by the U.S. House are enacted.
State Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon gave the estimate Monday during an event in which Snyder aides and advocates defended the expanded Medicaid program.
The House bill, which is pending in the Senate, would halt extra federal funds in 2020 that 31 states get as part of former President Barack Obama's expansion of Medicaid - the federal-state health care program for poorer and disabled Americans.
Lyon and state Budget Director Al Pscholka indicated Michigan would not have enough money to keep the entire Medicaid expansion intact.
