Capitol News

In recently released audio from Heartland Signal, former Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers is heard claiming that the GOP tax law will not result in Michiganders losing Medicaid coverage. However, Heartland Signal reports that this statement has been widely disputed, citing nonpartisan experts who estimate that 260,000 people in Michigan could lose health care as a result of cuts in the legislation.

According to Heartland Signal’s analysis, Rogers voted 14 times between 2003 and 2015 to reduce or weaken Medicaid. The report highlights several instances, including a 2003 vote on a budget bill proposing $92 billion in Medicaid cuts, a 2011 vote to convert Medicaid into a block grant program with $700 million in reductions, and support for a 2013 budget bill that would have cut Medicaid by 45%.

Michigan Democratic Party spokesperson Joey Hannum responded to the audio by stating: “Mike Rogers is lying about the Medicaid cuts he supports because he knows they’re wildly unpopular and will kick hundreds of thousands of Michiganders off their health care. After voting 14 times to gut Medicaid, Rogers is desperately trying to hide the damage his agenda will do to Michigan families, all so he can protect tax handouts for millionaires like himself.”

In the audio obtained by Heartland Signal, Rogers said: “And they keep making — they keep restating, ‘Oh no, Medicaid is going to go—’ That’s not true.” [Heartland Signal, 10/21/25] (AUDIO)

Heartland Signal’s findings are supported by research from organizations such as KFF, which projects that hundreds of thousands in Michigan may lose coverage due to the health-care provisions in the GOP tax law.

Rogers’ support for these policies has become a focal point in ongoing debates over health care access in Michigan.