Medicaid Cuts: Mom must Go into a Nursing Home
There is much conversation about the effects of the enormous cuts to the Medicaid program by the Trump Big Beautiful Bill. In Michigan alone these cuts could amount to 4 Billion dollars. ($4,000,000,000) per year. What does this mean for Michigan seniors, our parents? To put it bluntly, many will no longer get support for living independently in their own home. They will have to go to a nursing home.
Two Michigan programs, MiChoice Waiver and PACE, provide services to seniors who need a “nursing home level of care.” The programs provide assistance with daily needs such as toileting, bathing and meal preparation. Plus they will pay for home modifications necessary to make the home livable including modifications to the bathroom, kitchen, living area and ramps to enable entry and exit out of the home.
Without such assistance these seniors cannot live alone. You will either have to quit your job and become a full time caregiver to provide the nursing home level of care for your parent, or you will have to place Mom or Dad in a nursing home. The average cost in Michigan in 2025 is $11,842.
Let’s look at what this means. The first rule of getting “good” care in a nursing home is you must visit your parent at least daily. When there are problems, as there often are, you must stay at the nursing home or visit before, during and after work. The reality is that there are a few “good” nursing homes, some average and too many poor ones. You can see what nursing homes are near you and how they are rated at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services “Finding a Nursing Home” web page. You will notice very few 5 Star options and many 1 and 2 Star options. You know that the “good” nursing homes fill up first and the poor ones are the ones with vacancies. With the Medicaid cuts some nursing homes will close leaving fewer choices. Some hospitals will close.
There is no good news for seniors, for our parents.