Experts say Medicaid cuts passed by the U.S. House could result in millions of people losing health care — including more than 700,000 people in Michigan. 

Michigan resident Janae Wouldfolk says the cuts would change her life. A union liaison for AFSCME Local 140 who has worked at the Detroit Medical Center for 27 years, Wouldfolk cares for her 74-year-old mother and 19-year-old disabled son, Shemar.

On today’s episode of the Detroit Evening Report, she spoke with WDET’s Sascha Raiyn about her concerns. 

Wouldfolk says she’s used the knowledge she’s gained as an advocate and caregiver to help coworkers who needed help with health care coverage for themselves or loved ones. She says she knows many families who will be deeply impacted by the Medicaid cuts.

“You know, it’s a lot. It’s a struggle and if they do cut it, it’ll be a disaster,” she said.

The House passed the Trump administration budget last month. The bill will move to the Senate for a vote this week.

Other headlines for Tuesday, June 3, 2025:

• The Department of Homeland Security has agreed to restore the visas of four international college students — two at Wayne State and two at the University of Michigan. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the government, which has stripped visas from thousands of students across the country this spring and threatened to deport them. A federal judge dismissed the case after the Trump administration agreed not to terminate their status based solely on cursory background checks.
• Tiff Massey’s “Baby Bling” will be added to the Detroit Institute of Arts’ permanent collection. DIA Director Salvador Salort-Pons broke the news on WDET’s The Metro on Monday. Baby Bling is one of the pieces featured in Massey’s year-long “7 Mile + Livernois” exhibit that closed at the museum in May. After the success of the exhibit, the museum says it plans to re-install its contemporary African American galleries in a more prominent location near Diego Rivera Court in October. 

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

Michigan U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin spent three terms in the U.S. House before running to replace outgoing Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow. She bucked the pro-GOP trend to beat Mike Rogers last November for the seat.

WDET’s Russ McNamara caught up with the junior senator at the 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference ahead of All Things Considered – Detroit on Wednesday to talk about proposed cuts to Medicaid, supporting EV manufacturing and more.

On planned cuts to Medicaid

Michigan U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin says she is against planned cuts to Medicaid passed by House Republicans.

The legislation — part of a massive spending bill deemed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — is on its way to the Senate next week.

Slotkin says 300,000 Michiganders are at risk of losing their primary insurance if the bill passed as is, adding that work requirements are just another way to keep people off Medicaid.

“They’re making them sign up every six months so that people forget, people get busy and they lapse, and they get off of Medicaid,” she said. “For Michigan, it would have a dramatic impact.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration issued a report earlier this month warning of the potential impact of Medicaid cuts by the federal government.

During the 2024 campaign, now-President Donald Trump promised many times to never make cuts to Medicaid and Medicare.

On giving consumers a choice about EVs

The U.S. Senate recently voted to remove California’s ability to set EV and emission standards, thwarting the state’s goal of phasing out gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

Slotkin was the only Democrat who voted with Republicans on pushing back against California’s EV mandate, saying she believes in giving consumers a choice.

“I made a very important pledge to voters here that I don’t support a mandate,” she said. “I want to build the next generation of EVs, but I don’t want to mandate. I don’t believe in that.”

Michigan’s other U.S. Senator, Gary Peters, voted against the measure.

Slotkin says she is upset Congressional Republicans are rolling back incentives for people to purchase EVs, but that doesn’t mean we should be creating a mandate that is “above and beyond anything like consumer demand” without the infrastructure to support it.

WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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