Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Michigan program

Medicaid after a month’s medical bills (Group 2 deductible)

Michigan’s spend-down route can open Medicaid for part of a month when medical bills meet your deductible.

What it is

Michigan’s spend-down route can open Medicaid for part of a month when medical bills meet your deductible.

Large medical bills can make a separate Medicaid route worth discussing. MDHHS calculates a deductible using its protected-income rules. Each calendar month has a new calculation.

Eligibility rules
  • The children’s category covers people under 21. A separate category serves aged, blind or disabled people.
  • Income after the program’s rules must exceed the protected amount, with eligible bills filling the difference.
  • The January 2026 asset figures to discuss are $9,950 for one and $14,910 for two in the asset group. MDHHS confirms which assets and exclusions apply to your category.
What you get
  • Medicaid coverage after eligible expenses meet that month’s deductible.
What the help covers
  • MDHHS protects a set amount of monthly income for living costs, which depends on family size and county; ask the worker for the figure and the calculation in writing.
  • The protected amount is income the calculation leaves for living costs, not the amount of medical bills needed. MDHHS calculates a separate deductible and decides which expenses count, the coverage start date and which bills remain yours. A hospital stay does not automatically satisfy it.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the MDHHS worker handling your Medicaid application about Group 2 with a deductible.
  2. Bring itemized bills for the month and ask how to report them on DHS-114.

MDHHS: 1-855-789-5610 · Official page ↗

If you decide to apply
  • MDHHS reviews the bills for each calendar month. A successful month does not establish the next month’s deductible.
Good to know

The protected amount depends on who is in the case and where you live, so the office works it out; it is far lower than the ordinary Medicaid line.

Other details
  • A pending Home Care Children application is not coverage. Group 2 can remain a separate discussion while other routes are considered. The worker needs eligible expenses, the fiscal group and the insurance payments before calculating a deductible.

Federal background: Medically needy Medicaid and spend-down.

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Would Group 2 help with a month of large bills? What expenses would remain ours, and could you help request the calculation if it is worthwhile?”

Why I’m asking: I want to know whether treatment bills could open Medicaid even if ordinary coverage does not fit.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Ask for the deductible test by name and hand over the month’s bills on form DHS-114.

Your social worker

The hospital billing office can print an itemised statement for the month.

The care team

Nothing.

Who decides
MDHHS, month by month.
Ask your social worker
“We are over the Medicaid income line. Can MDHHS test a Group 2 deductible for the month of the admission, and which bills should I bring?”

How to apply

First step: Ask MDHHS to test Group 2 with a deductible for the month of the admission, and report the bills on form DHS-114.

  1. Ask MDHHS in writing to test Group 2 with a deductible for the month of the admission.
  2. Bring every bill from that month, and any older bill still owed.
  3. Ask which shelter area your county sits in and what the current protected amount is.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Ask MDHHS to look at Group 2 with a deductible as part of the Medicaid application, and report medical expenses on form DHS-114.

What to gather

  • Itemised hospital bills for that month
  • Older bills still owed and not used before
  • This month’s income
  • Your county

How long: No observed timeline was published. The decision is made month by month.

What a yes looks like

A notice stating the calculated deductible, qualifying expenses, coverage start date and bills that remain the family’s responsibility.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask which figure was used and which bills were counted. A bill sent to collections is not automatically out.

Watch out

  • The protected-income table Michigan hosts is dated December 2013. Ask MDHHS for the current figure rather than trusting that number.
  • It is not household size. The protected amount runs on the fiscal group and the county shelter area.
  • Every calendar month starts again.

Dates that change this

2013-12-01: The protected-income table Michigan still hosts is dated December 2013 and no replacement was located, so the exact figure for your county and group could be different now. Ask MDHHS for the current number.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

A monthly Group 2 Medicaid calculation can open coverage after eligible medical expenses meet the deductible. MDHHS confirms the asset rules and coverage date.

  • $9,950 — Asset limit, asset group of one, effective January 1, 2026
  • $14,910 — Asset limit, asset group of two, effective January 1, 2026
  • $528/month — Protected income, fiscal group of four, lowest shelter area (December 2013 table, still the hosted edition)
  • $593/month — Protected income, fiscal group of four, highest shelter area (December 2013 table, still the hosted edition)

Covers: Qualifying Michigan Medicaid services from the coverage date MDHHS establishes for the eligible month

Legal protection: Qualifying old bills that are still owed can count, subject to the manual’s rules; being sent to a collection agency does not by itself wipe a bill out

What it costs the family: The family can remain responsible for expenses used to meet the calculated deductible; the protected-income allowance is not the amount of bills owed.

The eligibility facts, as published

Age
under 21 for the children’s category (BEM 132); a separate route exists for aged, blind or disabled people (BEM 166)
Income
countable income above the protected level, with medical bills making up the difference
Assets
$9,950 for one, $14,910 for two (BEM 400)
Period
each calendar month is a separate deductible period (BEM 545)

The trap: Do not use ordinary household size. The amount protected depends on the fiscal group and the county’s shelter area, and the table Michigan hosts for it is dated December 2013. The five-point allowance does not apply here, and these are protected-income standards, not poverty percentages. Every calendar month is its own separate period.

Where I read this

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