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Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder talks at the 2013 Mackinac Policy Conference on May 31, 2013.

(Fritz Klug | MLive.com)

LANSING, MI -- Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is beginning his final push for Medicaid reform and expansion ahead of an expected Senate vote next week.

The Republican governor is expected to discuss the "Healthy Michigan" plan Wednesday night at Fox Run, a senior living community in Novi. The informational session is planned for 7 p.m.

Snyder will visit Grand Rapids on Thursday, where he'll participate in a televised town hall meeting in WOOD-TV studios at 7 p.m. The event also will be broadcast on WOOD Radio and WEYI-TV in Flint.

The governor has spent a good part of his summer touring the state in support of a House-approved plan to reform the Medicaid program in Michigan and expand access to individuals who earn up to 133 percent of the poverty level.

"The Healthy Michigan plan would provide health care coverage to about 470,000 people, most working but earning less than $15,000 a year," Snyder said this week in a release. "It would allow these hard-working people to have regular medical care rather than suffering with an illness and then going to an emergency room.

"Along with improving their quality of life, Healthy Michigan will save money for the state's taxpayers and job providers, help control medical costs, improve the state's business climate, and boost our economy."

House Bill 4714 would allow the state to appropriate $1.7 billion in federal funding during the next fiscal year. The money would be made available through the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, beginning next year.

The controversial health care law originally required states to increase eligibility or risk all Medicaid funding, but a 2012 Supreme Court ruling made expansion optional, and more than 20 states have decided to opt out.

Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville declined to hold an up or down vote on the House bill in June before lawmakers left town to spend their summers working in-district. Instead, the Monroe Republican announced formation of a bipartisan workgroup that spent part of the summer updating the legislation with additional reforms.

Richardville plans to call a vote on the legislation -- and possibly two conservative alternatives that also passed out of committee -- when the Senate reconvenes next week.

The Medicaid legislation has divided Republicans in Lansing, many of whom remain wary of the federal health care law and do not believe the proposed reforms justify expanded government spending.

Coming Sunday: See opposing opinion pieces by Gov. Rick Snyder and Sen. Patrick Colbeck on Medicaid expansion

Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer has called it a Republican "civil war," while conservative activist and recent GOP party chair candidate Todd Courser said it was more of an "intense fellowship."

The summer months have provided supporters and opponents with ample time to lobby lawmakers. Various organizations have paid for billboards, radio ads and robocalls. Some tea party groups have threatened primary challenges for Republicans who support the bill.

With the Senate vote nearing, both sides are getting creative.

Costumed Medicaid expansion supporters this week presented fake "Tea Party Crackpot" awards to at least two Republican senators -- Patrick Colbeck of Canton and David Robertson of Grand Blanc Township -- because their caucus did not vote on the expansion before summer recess.

Americans For Prosperity-Michigan, meanwhile, will offer free hot air balloon rides on Thursday in Kalamazoo and Caledonia. The Medicaid expansion opponents say the balloon rides will highlight the preponderance of "hot air" in the ongoing debate.

"Expanding Medicaid would be the largest expansion of state government since 1967, when the state income tax was enacted," said AFP state director Scott Hagerstrom.

"There are numerous reasons for Michigan to reject any type of Medicaid expansion. Most of those reasons begin and end with a federal government that has become too large, too intrusive, and in desperate need of reform."

The Senate is expected to reconvene on August 27 and is scheduled to meet again on August 28. If the Senate approves HB 4714 on either of those days, it would need to return to the House for concurrence before heading to the governor's desk.

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Google+ or follow him on Twitter.