The contentious Medicaid expansion that could extend health coverage to more than 400,000 uninsured Michigan residents passed Tuesday evening.
After months of debate, the bill was passed with a 20-18 vote in the Michigan Senate shortly before 8:30 p.m.
Nearly two hours before, the bill was voted down in a 19-18 vote, with a move for a reconsideration vote passed before the Senate went into recess. The vote enabled lawmakers to return and revote.
On top of extending health coverage to many uninsured Michigan residents, advocates say the expansion would free up at least $100 million a year of additional funds to spend any way the state chooses, as the federal government picks up the tab for some services the state currently covers.
The expansion would be entirely funded by the state for the first three years, as the Affordable Care Act dbprovides federal funding for the expansion.
After that, the federal government would pay for 90 percent of the cost, which is one of the reasons for such a long and bloody policy debate between supporters and Tea Party activists who have stood in opposition to the ACA since its 2010 inception.
Gov. Rick Snyder is one of the key supporters of the Medicaid expansion.
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