Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says he and a key lawmaker have conceptually agreed on a plan to impose work or training requirements for Medicaid recipients, but some details are still being worked out.
The Republican governor told The Associated Press Thursday there's been a "meeting of the minds" and "we're in a pretty good place."
He confirms previous comments from Sen. Mike Shirkey - the bill sponsor - that a proposed 29-hour work requirement would instead be 20 hours.
The bill as passed by the GOP-led Senate would require qualifying work activities to qualify for the taxpayer-funded health insurance program - such as employment, education or job training.
Although the bill includes exceptions for certain people with disabilities and people who are pregnant, critics say that the exemptions leave out other people who can’t work.
Snyder says the concept of having people work is "great," but he opposes making the terms so tough that people can't succeed.
Snyder had previously been opposed to the legislation, saying that more people with medical coverage saves costs for the health care system and taxpayers.
The Medicaid work requirement bill had also been the subject of criticism for a provision that exempted counties with more than 8.5 percent unemployment from the work rule. Those counties are mostly rural and white.
Lawmakers, including Shirkey, backed off the exemption after significant criticism.
