Michigan Medicaid Eligibility Errors Denied Coverage to Some Disabled Adults Before Approvals on Appeal

NPR reported that Marie Noon, 48, of Brighton, Michigan, was denied Medicaid coverage in September 2025 despite qualifying through the Freedom to Work program for disabled working adults. The state's Bridges eligibility system incorrectly determined she was not disabled and earned too much income.

Noon takes eight medications daily for adult-onset Still's disease, a rare inflammatory arthritis diagnosed more than a decade ago.

Noon applied in August 2025 and received a denial notice that cited incorrect income information. She paid hundreds of dollars out of pocket for prescriptions while appealing and reduced doctor visits to limit bills. Her coverage was approved in January 2026 after months of appeals.

Deloitte has operated Michigan's Bridges system under contracts worth roughly $768 million since 2006. The company holds contracts to build or run Medicaid eligibility systems in at least 25 states. A 2010 Michigan auditor general report found the original $70 million contract ballooned by $50 million, and the latest contract is worth $197.4 million through 2030.

Similar eligibility errors have affected people with disabilities in other states. In Tennessee a federal judge ruled in 2024 that the state violated federal law and the Constitution in handling Medicaid eligibility for disabled applicants. In Texas in 2023 Lilly Livingston, who has Down syndrome, was erroneously enrolled in the limited Healthy Texas Women program instead of full Medicaid.

Disability Rights Michigan has received two or three calls per month about wrongful Freedom to Work benefit denials. Medicaid enrollment in Michigan's disability category fell 10 percent over roughly four years. The state implemented a system change in January 2025 requiring evaluation of all other coverage options before approving limited Plan First benefits.