That includes MSU students who are filed as independent on their taxes, though university officials can’t say how many such students would be eligible.

Advocates must have breathed a collective sigh of relief after the federally funded program passed through the House Michigan Competitiveness Committee by a 9-5 vote Wednesday morning. It’s now zooming straight for the House floor.

Democratic House Minority Leader Tim Greimel said the law’s fate is a top priority for the Legislature before its summer break in two weeks.

And it’s likely to incite a fiery debate that could cause further fragmentation within the GOP after Tea Party activists criticized the measure before it passed through committee.

But both parties’ leadership say they support the expansion. It’s just those pesky details they disagree on.

Greimel said he supports “getting Medicaid expansion done, but making sure it’s done right, in a way that will work for Medicaid beneficiaries and for Michigan small businesses.”

Like other Democrats, Greimel opposed the Republican introduction of up to a 7 percent co-pay for those between 100 and 133 percent of the federal poverty line. Democrats on the committee still voted for the expansion, rendering moot the five Republicans who voted no on the measure.

It was a rare moment: the Democrats’ votes made the difference because of a divided GOP.
And advocacy groups are glad to see the law a little closer to landing on Snyder’s desk.

“We’ve taken a huge step forward today,” said Jan Hudson, a health care policy analyst with the Michigan League for Public Policy.

“I’m very hopeful,” Hudson said of the potential of it eventually passing through the Legislature, though she said it’s impossible to predict what will happen.

One possible clue: Republican Speaker of the House Jase Bolger supports the expansion in the bill’s current form, according to Bolger’s press secretary, Ari Adler.