JULY 20, 2026
Disabled Medicaid patients in Michigan and other states face coverage denials traced to IT system errors
A KFF Health News investigation found that Michigan's Medicaid eligibility system, operated by Deloitte under contracts worth roughly $768 million since 2006, has incorrectly denied or misassigned coverage to people with disabilities. Similar problems were documented in Tennessee through a class-action lawsuit and in Texas through state records. Deloitte said it found "no system anomalies causing routine denials," and Michigan's health department said it is "not aware of any widespread or systemic issues."
Marie Noon, a 48-year-old Michigan resident with a rare inflammatory arthritis condition, was denied Medicaid in September 2024 despite being eligible through a program called Freedom to Work, which covers disabled adults who work. According to her disability rights attorney, Anastassia Kolosova, the state's eligibility computer system failed to register Noon as disabled and applied the wrong income formula, concluding she earned too much to qualify. Noon paid hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket for eight daily medications for months while appealing the decision. The state reversed the denial in January 2025.
Deloitte, a global consulting firm, has held contracts to build or operate Michigan's Medicaid eligibility system — called Bridges — since 2006, with total contract value of approximately $768 million, according to contracts reviewed by KFF Health News. The firm operates similar systems in at least 25 states. In a statement, Deloitte said eligibility systems "are owned by the states and built to their unique specifications," and that the firm works "at the direction of our state clients." Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services said the state is "now fully capable of operating and maintaining Bridges independently."
The investigation identified additional patterns of error. In 2024, Michigan advocates reported that people with disabilities were being automatically enrolled in Plan First — a limited Medicaid program covering only sexual and reproductive health services — instead of comprehensive Medicaid coverage. State records showed Medicaid enrollment in the category that includes people with disabilities fell by 10% over roughly four years, according to the Michigan House Fiscal Agency. Michigan's health department acknowledged in April that it had made system changes "to address concerns raised by advocates," though it said the changes were "not to correct system errors." A similar misassignment error was documented in Texas in 2023, where a young woman with Down syndrome was enrolled in Healthy Texas Women, a limited program, instead of full Medicaid coverage.