Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced earlier this month that they will seek federal approval of a Section 1115 waiver demonstration to expand access to family planning services. The “Plan First!” initiative would offer free contraception, cancer screenings, STI/STD testing, and other family planning services to … Read more
Here is this month’s edition of “5 Things We’re Watching” in the Michigan health policy landscape, including some legislation we’re watching, new data and recommendations from MDHHS on rising opioid overdose rates, and information on the state’s procurement of children’s crisis stabilization providers. Thanks for your engagement with us. As always, feel free to send me story … Read more
Two bills proposing policy changes concerning staffing and beds in health facilities have recently been introduced in the Michigan Legislature. On Sept. 7th, Rep. Sarah Lightner (R – Springport) introduced a bill regulating supplemental nursing service agencies to the Michigan House of Representatives. A supplemental nursing service agency is an entity that provides … Read more
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced this week that it is accepting proposals for the MI Kids Now Mobile Response Grant Program for the grant period of Jan. 1st, 2023, to Sept. 30th, 2023. This Request for Proposals (RFP) comes as MDHHS has announced additional funding for the expansion … Read more
A new data brief published by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) shows a rising trend of opioid overdoses involving cocaine laced with fentanyl. The rate of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) responses to opioid overdose with cocaine involvement was nearly one-third greater in 2021 compared to 2020. The brief says … Read more
To better help fight the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an Emergency Use Authorization for bivalent COVID-19 vaccine for booster doses. This was followed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendation for use of the Pfizer bivalent booster vaccine for ages … Read more
This month’s newsletter includes a rundown of recent notable activity at MDHHS, a conversation with Alex Rossman, External Affairs Director at the Michigan League for Public Policy, and information about the nurse strike at the University of Michigan. Thanks for reading! Eli Kirshbaum State of Reform 1. MDHHS works to increase COVID health equity, … Read more
On Aug. 10th, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced the creation of 11 Regional Health Equity Advisory Councils. These councils will be “designed to help combat health disparities in underserved and rural areas across the state.” The funding for these councils comes from the CDC 21-2103 National Initiative to … Read more
On Monday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced that it has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to “assist communities with planning and implementation of evidence-based services to promote and preserve community-based placement for juvenile justice-involved youth who may be otherwise placed into out-of-home placement.” MDHHS told State of … Read more
Last week, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced that it has asked federal regulators for an additional year to implement the 1915(i) State Plan Amendment (SPA) to transition eligibility determinations for behavioral health community support services from prepaid inpatient health plans (PIHPs) to MDHHS. Some services covered under the 1915(i) state … Read more