A Michigan woman with a rare inflammatory arthritis disease was wrongfully denied Medicaid coverage in 2025 due to a computer system error, forcing her to pay hundreds of dollars monthly for medications she needs to prevent serious health complications. Marie Noon, who has been unable to work for extended periods due to her condition, applied for Medicaid through the Freedom to Work program after losing private insurance. The state’s benefits system, operated by consulting firm Deloitte, failed to recognize her disability status and incorrectly determined she earned too much to qualify, despite having information showing she was disabled. After months of appeals and fighting with state officials, Noon’s coverage was finally approved in January.
Deloitte has operated Michigan’s Medicaid eligibility system under contracts valued at approximately $768 million since 2006 and dominates similar work across at least 25 states. However, the Michigan system has reportedly directed people with disabilities into limited coverage options or denied them entirely. Similar problems have surfaced in Tennessee through a class-action lawsuit and in Texas, according to state records and interviews. When questioned about these issues, Deloitte stated it found no system anomalies causing routine denials and noted that states own the eligibility systems and direct their operation. Michigan officials said they were not aware of widespread systemic issues.
Other documented cases reveal patterns of failure. In Texas, a young woman with Down syndrome was wrongly enrolled in a limited program covering only cancer screenings and family planning services instead of comprehensive Medicaid coverage she needed for recovery from major surgeries. In Michigan, advocates discovered that people with disabilities were being automatically enrolled in Plan First, a limited program covering only sexual health services, rather than comprehensive plans covering their full medical needs. Over four years, Medicaid enrollment for people with disabilities in Michigan declined by 10 percent, an unusual drop given typical enrollment patterns.
Experts express concern that these problems will worsen as states implement sweeping changes required by federal legislation. The new requirements will force states to update their eligibility systems to verify employment details and other information, potentially straining systems that already struggle with accuracy. Roughly 15.5 million people nationwide rely on Medicaid due to disabilities, and advocates warn that system overloads will disproportionately impact vulnerable populations. Legal experts and disability rights attorneys emphasize that eligibility systems must function automatically and reliably rather than depending on individual caseworkers to catch errors.