Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a new state budget into law on July 21 that includes provisions aimed at protecting residents’ access to social safety net programs affected by funding cuts contained in the budget law President Donald Trump signed into law in 2025.
The 2027 fiscal year budget funds state government and school operations and totals $75.2 billion as written, although it excludes roughly $11 billion in Medicaid provider taxes and federal school funding the state is authorized to spend upon receipt, making the final total closer to $86.4 billion.
In a press release issued following the bill signing, Whitmer’s office said Michigan is investing $184.3 million to help state departments with the implementation and administration of new safety net program policies required as part of the budget law. It will also fund assistance for Michiganders navigating the new federal rules for proving and maintaining eligibility for Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The budget law is set to cut $187 billion from SNAP over the next decade and $1 trillion in funding from Medicaid, putting hundreds of thousands of low-income Michiganders at risk of losing health coverage and food assistance.
“At a time when Michiganders are struggling with higher costs, this budget puts money in their pockets,” Whitmer said in the press release. “It continues free breakfast and lunch for all 1.4 million public school students, cuts taxes, fixes the damn roads, and protects Michiganders from the harms of HR 1, DC Republicans’ big ugly bill.”
According to the Michigan State Budget Office, as of 2024, 1,474,400 Michigan residents, or 15% of the state’s population, were SNAP beneficiaries. Over half a million children in Michigan received SNAP benefits.
Medicaid provided health insurance coverage to more than 2.6 million low-income Michigan residents as of April 2025, according to data from the Michigan League for Public Policy, a nonpartisan research group. Rural communities stand to be affected the most from cuts, it said; of the 41 Michigan counties where over 20% of residents are covered by Medicaid, 37 are rural.
Some declines are already being seen. In Michigan, SNAP participation fell about 10%, or about 154,300 recipients, between July 2025 and April 2026, according to data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Roughly 9%, or 190,800, fewer Michiganders were enrolled in Medicaid this March compared to the year prior, according to data from KFF.
More Medicaid recipients could be disenrolled starting in January, when new work requirements and new reporting requirements in the budget law go into effect. Under the new rules, Medicaid recipients would have to prove they are going to school, working or volunteering at least 80 hours a month. Some are exempt from the work requirements, including individuals deemed “medically frail” and those who are parents or guardians of children under the age of 13.
KFF reports that some people may have trouble meeting the new work requirements, including individuals whose health conditions limit their ability to work but aren’t severe enough to qualify for an exemption, as well as those who lose their jobs.
Whitmer, who is term-limited and will leave office at the end of this year, has said previously that the state needed to steady its social safety net programs and provide relief to people facing rising costs due to the federal policy changes. Some of her earlier proposals included revised rates of tax on tobacco products and gambling, which didn’t make it into the final budget.
The state budget includes a $20 million line item for community organizations to assist individuals in navigating changes to Medicaid and food assistance programs and $28 million for Michigan Works! agencies, which are handling increased numbers of Medicaid and SNAP beneficiaries in need of assistance in complying with the new work requirements. An additional $4 million will be used for registered apprenticeships to help those seeking employment and job training opportunities.
In the governor’s press release, Karen Holcomb-Merrill, acting president and CEO of the Michigan League for Public Policy, praised the investments to support Medicaid and SNAP beneficiaries. She also noted the continuation of Michigan’s state-level earned income tax credit, a refundable credit for low-income workers that is included in the new budget. The state estimates 665,000 families eligible for the tax credit will receive an average of $3,900 each during tax-filing season.
“With last year’s federal megabill making it harder for Michiganders to afford food and healthcare, we’re glad to see this budget investing in families and working to mitigate harm,” said Holcomb-Merrill.
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