Medicaid expansion in Michigan has taken a slight pitstop, and will not take effect until late March or early April instead of Jan. 1. The senate sent HB 4714 to the House Tuesday morning, but failed to vote on granting the bill immediate effect.

Senate Democrats pushed to call for a vote on immediate effect, but Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, who presides over the Senate, told the chamber that the bill had already been delivered to the House.

(Related: Advance Care Planning Lessons for Oakland County Residents)

Despite the drama in the Senates, lasting eight hours, eight Republicans joined all 12 Senate Democrats and passed the bill 75-32 that would expand Medicaid to close to 450,000 of the state’s working poor adults.

To grant the bill immediate effect, supermajority was required, and it fell two votes short of the 26 needed.

“The people of our state are left to pay the price because the Senate Republicans chose to play political games rather than do the right thing on this fundamentally important legislation,” Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, said in a statement. “This obstruction is disrespectful to the members of this chamber, and most importantly, the people we were elected to serve.”

(Related: Medicaid Expansion Will Save the State Money, Snyder Says)

The delay could cost the state millions and decrease the amount of savings the state is projected to see in its general fund.

House members were greeted with a letter on their desk today from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who was responding to a letter from Rep. Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake.

Sebelius clarified in the letter that if the Legislature expands coverage and drops it at a later date, there would not be a financial penalty as a result, and no reduction in federal matching dollar rates.

(Related: Medicare Does Not Pay for Long-Term Care)

“Further, dropping such coverage would not jeopardize the state’s ability to participate in any other parts of the Medicaid program,” Sebelius wrote.

Medicaid expansion is headed to Gov. Rick Snyder’s desk, but he isn’t likely to sign it for about two weeks, when he returns from an investment mission in China.

Christopher J. Berry is a Michigan elder law attorney Dedicated to helping seniors, veterans and their families navigate the long-term care maze. To learn more visit http://www.theeldercarefirm.com/ or call 248.481.4000

Though immigration has long been a hot-button issue, it seems the U.S. House has decided to delay further examination of several immigration bills while still grappling with how to approach a mostly Republican-backed desire for greater border security. It is expected that most revisions to immigration law which will affect individuals already residing in the country will not be determined until next year.

The House is now beginning to put a strategy into place for the rewrite that is needed of immigration laws, more than six months after the Senate-began its negotiations and weeks after the broad plan was passed.

Senate bill S. 744 proposes a path to citizenship for the more than11 undocumented immigrants who are residing in the United States and undocumented, along with a plan for border security which would cost $46 billion. Though most Senate Democrats and 14 Republicans passed the bill, a large number of House Republicans have stated that they are opposing the current citizenship path proposal. House Speaker John Boehner has repeatedly stated that the Senate bill would not be addressed any time soon, while Louisiana Representative John Fleming stated that any action this July on the bill was “100 percent unlikely.”

House Republicans met for a members-only meeting in July during which they reaffirmed that they would approach the immigration legislation decisions via individual bills. They plan to vote on how to strengthen U.S. border security before they move to other immigration reform issues. Boarder security and the enforcement of current immigration laws were the top priority, Boehner said. He did not comment on whether or not he thought the legislation which included the much-touted citizenship path plan would be passed, a plan which includes a provision not unlike President Obama’s DREAM Act. The DREAM Act is structured to fast-track the undocumented immigrants in the U.S. who came to the country as children and who have gone on to serve in the military or attend college.

President Obama has stated that he hoped to sign comprehensive immigration legislation by the end of 2012. Agreeing on citizenship pathways and border security continue to be a major hurdle for both the House and Senate. Grassroots supporters from business communities, from faith groups and social action communities have been lobbying for the Senate to move forward quickly, to little effect.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an attorney, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

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