A Medicaid expansion bill that is a critical component of Obamacare implementation was heavily revised by a Republican-led Michigan House committee on Tuesday, stripping away key reforms that some GOP legislators had previously insisted be included.

Republicans in the House Competitiveness Committee who voted to adopt the watered-down substitute were: Reps. Kevin Cotter, R-Mount Pleasant; Ray Franz, R-Onekama; Frank Foster, R-Petoskey; Ken Goike, R-Ray Township; Gail Haines, R-Lake Angelus; Dan Lauwers, R-Brockway Township; Tom Leonard, DeWitt Township; Dave Pagel, R-Berrien Springs; Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake; and Ken Yonker, R-Caledonia.

The bill could be reported to the full House as early as today, and possibly voted on tomorrow or next week. Some of the Republican representatives from the committee have said they will not vote for Medicaid expansion if the bill gets to the House floor.

A week ago, many of the same Republicans had boasted of the reforms that they later voted to remove, said Jack McHugh, senior legislative analyst at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

In the previous version of House Bill 4714, the expansion was conditional upon the federal government allowing a package of substantive reforms including a four-year Medicaid benefit cap, and a trigger that would rescind the expansion if federal funding dropped below 100 percent. 

The committee heard testimony for just over an hour from a variety of people. McHugh started the testimony by reminding many on the committee of what they have said about Obamacare.

"Back in the districts many of you have told constituents you think Obamacare is a bad law that should be repealed," McHugh testified. "Yet here you are on the threshold of a vote that will further entrench the law ... at the very moment when it is becoming highly vulnerable to a serious course correction."

Scott Hagerstrom, Michigan state director of Americans For Prosperity, said Medicaid expansion would be "the largest expansion of state government in nearly 45 years."

Drew Gonshorowski, a policy analyst for the Heritage Foundation, said future funding for the expansion will be via more taxes and borrowing.

"The Medicaid expansion in the long run will cost the state of Michigan," he said.

One speaker said the politicians will be held accountable for their votes.

David Dudenhoefer, of Michigan’s Campaign for Liberty, said his group scores bills and the votes of politicians.

"Elections do have consequences," Dudenhoefer said.

Democrats who voted yes were: Reps. Paul Clemente, D-Lincoln Park; Andy Schor, D-Lansing; Harvey Santana, D-Detroit; and Kate Segal, D-Battle Creek. Rep. Jim Townsend, D-Royal Oak, chose not to vote. 

(Editor's note: This story has been slightly edited since its original posting.)

Despite claims that public education in Michigan is perpetually underfunded, a fact check shows otherwise.

According to newly released data, Michigan ranks 9th nationally in per-pupil spending on elementary and secondary education when per capita income is figured into the equation. That means that after controlling for the varying levels of wealth among the 50 states, Michigan schools spend more on average than 41 other states.

These statistics are from 2011, the most recent year for which data is available. The U.S. Department of Commerce released the information last month.

In addition, the data reveals telltale facts about some of the states that advocates of higher K-12 spending often point to as models Michigan should emulate. When per capita income is figured into the calculation, some of these states actually lag far behind Michigan in per-pupil spending.

Massachusetts is perhaps the most striking example. According to the new data, Massachusetts is ranked 7th in overall (state, plus federal) per-pupil revenue at $16,495. However, after per capita income is factored in, Massachusetts isn't even among the top 30 states in terms of its K-12 spending effort. That means 30-plus states, including Michigan, dig deeper into their available resources to provide K-12 funding than Massachusetts does.

There is a push for increased K-12 dollars in virtually every state. In light of the data released in May, the question has arisen as to whether Massachusetts has been spending enough on K-12 education.

"It's well-established in the education research literature that there's virtually no relationship between how much schools spend and how much their students achieve," said Michael Van Beek, director of education policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. "Nevertheless, it's not surprising that schools continually lobby for more funding. It makes the jobs of school officials much easier when there's more money available to spend."

Minnesota is another state that the "spend more on K-12" advocates have used as an example for Michigan to follow. With a per-pupil K-12 revenue level of $13,464, Minnesota is ranked 16^th among the 50 states. Yet, the data shows that, when adjusted for per capita income, Minnesota ranks 29^th nationally, which is 20 spots below Michigan.

With or without adjusting for per capita income, the data shows that Michigan's K-12 spending is higher than the spending levels of most other states. It has remained so in spite of the one-state recession it experienced during the last decade.

Michigan's $12,644 per-pupil revenue in 2011 gave it a ranking of 21st among the 50 states.

"Even after one of the worst recessions in state history, Michigan still puts forth an above-average effort in funding its public school system," Van Beek said. "These dollars might not stretch as far as they used to, especially with an expensive and unsustainable pension system that eats up more funding than ever before, but Michigan devotes more resources to its public schools compared to most other states."

The rankings do not include the District of Columbia, which consistently spends more per-pupil than any state, while getting relatively poor academic results. However, it has been suggested that it is more appropriate to compare D.C. to cities, such as Baltimore or Detroit, than to states.

Other statistics revealed in the data include:

• Michigan had $18.4 billion in revenue for K-12 in 2011;
• Michigan was 20th in per-pupil operational spending in 2011;
• Michigan ranked 10th in operations spending, when adjusted for per capita income in 2011; and
• In 2011, Michigan increased per-pupil spending for the 6th consecutive year, which occurred while overall spending nationwide decreased.

Nancy Knight, spokesperson for the Michigan Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union that perpetually lobbies for more money, did not respond to a request for comment.