Lansing Lines is presented in cooperation with MIRS, a Lansing-based news and information service.
Whitmer Signs Telemedicine Parity, Asbestos, Teacher Licenses, And Mental Health
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed nine bills recently with several directed at insurance and telehealth, along with asbestos abatement, licensing for teachers and children’s mental health intervention policy.
Whitmer signed HB 4579 , HB 4580 , HB 4213 , and HB 4131 , which all add up to requiring health insurance companies, Medicaid and Healthy Michigan to cover telemedicine services at the same rate as going to physically see the doctor.
Republicans said the bills would drive up health care costs, while Reps. Natalie Price (D-Berkley), Felicia Brabec (D-Ann Arbor), Christine Morse (D-Kalamazoo), and Tullio Liberati, JR. (D-Allen Park) said they make sure that everyone has access to health care services.
“The pandemic exposed accessibility concerns in our health care system. With more providers now offering telehealth options, it only makes sense to keep the reimbursement rates the same for telehealth appointments and in-person visits,” Brabec said.
Two of the bills, HB 4186 and HB 4188 , were part of the package that would heighten standards set for the removal of asbestos.
Reps. Donavan McKinney (D-Detroit) and Abraham Aiyash (D-Hamtramck) said the safety legislation surrounding asbestos was a win for the environment and communities.
“Asbestos is a killer; there is not safe amount of exposure,” Aiyash said.
Licenses for teaching would be extended by the signing of HB 4101 and SB 518 .
The Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) bill would allow teachers until July 1, 2027, to get an interim special education certificate if it is earned through an approved alternative program.
The Rep. Curtis VanderWall (R-Ludington) bill would extend the temporary license for speech-language pathologists’ postgraduate clinical work from one year to two years.
“By removing unnecessary hurdles, we will be able to bring more qualified speech therapists to Michigan and our rural areas,” VanderWall said.
The Sen. Dan Lauwers (R-Brockway) sponsored SB 227 would help return teen therapeutic group homes, also known as “child crisis centers.”
They typically are used to intervene with children in emergency situations.
“Addressing the lack of children’s psychiatric in-patient beds in the state will require a multifaceted approach and a collective effort from many stakeholders, but this legislation was a significant and important step forward as we work toward solutions to the broader, more complex issue,” Lauwers said.
Medical Parole For Ailing, Terminally Ill Inmates Passes Senate
Inmates with a life expectancy of 18 months or less can seek medical parole, allowing them to potentially return to loved ones, under legislation the Senate passed recently.
As it stands today, Michigan’s parole board could allow an ailing inmate – depending on their sentence – to be admitted into a medical facility it has approved. The law applies to those with disabling mental disorders, like dementia and Alzheimer’s, and inmates with a complex medical condition removing their ability to walk, stand or sit without personal assistance.
SB 599 , which passed today 22-16, would expand the provision to those with a terminal condition, and would allow them to go to places other than a parole board-approved facility.
Individuals sentenced to imprisonment for life – with convictions related to first degree murder or first degree criminal sexual conduct – could not qualify for a medical parole consideration. Also, if they were convicted of a violation where the state expressly denied parole eligibility, they could not access medical parole.
Sens. Mark Huizenga (R-Walker) and Michael Webber (R-Rochester Hills) joined Democrats in supporting today’s SB 599 .
During today’s Senate session, Sen. Erika Geiss (D-Taylor) said since the current statute was signed into law, “only one person has been able to be released on medically frail parole.”
“The families of loved ones who are incarcerated and medically frail, or terminally ill … many advocacy groups have sought this,” Geiss said. “And I will say, it was actually a delight to work with the Department of Corrections on this bill, to make it so some of our most vulnerable incarcerated people are able to, not just be sent to a facility for their parole, but also to be surrounded by their loved ones … (to) end their remaining days in dignity.”
Geiss’ bill features language stating those released on medical parole – and not admitted into a facility – must be electronically monitored, unless the state’s parole board determines monitoring is not necessary for protecting public safety.
The electronic monitoring would be linked to a separate law dealing with “a global positioning monitoring system.”
Sens. Ruth Johnson (R-Holly) and Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) both offered unsuccessful amendments to SB 599 .
Johnson proposed eliminating language allowing inmates to receive medical parole if they have a “mental health” terminal condition. Furthermore, Runestad’s amendment would require those projected to live for less than another 18 months to score low on a validated risk assessment.
Additionally, Runestad’s proposal would make medical parole available to those with a recommendation from a health professional to receive hospice services.
“Third, my amendment includes another provision which will ensure that a person who is paroled because of their terminal condition must report to their county prosecutor if they recover (inside) that 18 month timeline,” Runestad said. “Yes, this happens. If a parolee beats whatever illness gave them the diagnosis, and then at that point, they should not be allowed to remain on the streets and the prosecutor would be able to reinstate their original penalty.”
Appeals Panel Vacates Ascension Settlement
A federal appeals panel today vacated a lower court’s approval of a settlement resolving a lawsuit that alleged Ascension Health Alliance improperly dismissed employees who refused the COVID vaccine.
The October 2023 settlement in Albright v. Ascension Michigan also resolved claims for all Ascension affiliates nationwide, but in a non-published opinion from U.S. Sixth Circuit Court Judge R. Guy Cole Jr., the court held the district court lacked jurisdiction because “no named plaintiff had standing” to add the affiliates.
“There is not enough to show that any named (Michigan) plaintiff has an injury traceable to the 25 additional affiliates,” the court’s opinion reads. ” … Because no named plaintiff had standing as to the added affiliate defendants, the district court did not have jurisdiction to approve the class action settlement.”
Ascension required its employees to receive the COVID vaccine and those who refused, including those denied religious accommodation, were suspended. While some employees were recalled back to work, some were not.
More than 100 of the hospital’s Michigan employees claimed Ascension violated their rights, and they filed a class-action suit in July 2022.
That complaint was revised, however, in April 2023 to add Ascension’s parent company, Ascension Health Alliance, and 25 additional affiliates as defendants after the parent company reached a settlement agreement that called for each class member to file a claim for up to five weeks of the average base pay in their state.
Of the more than 4,000 potential class members, 2,703 filed a claim while 281 opted out. Nine – all associated with the affiliated defendants – objected to the settlement
Following a fairness hearing, District Judge Jane M. Beckering gave final approval to the settlement.
Judges Richard Allen Griffin and Chad A. Readler participated in the panel’s opinion.
Michigan Finds Second Human Case Of Bird Flu
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) officials reported a second farmer working with a bird-flu infected dairy cow tested positive for the H5N1 virus, otherwise known as the “Bird Flu.”
The worker was from a different farm than the first human case detected in Michigan and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the risk remained low. There were no signs of human-to-human transmission and the worker was recovering from respiratory symptoms.
“With the first case in Michigan, eye symptoms occurred after a direct splash of infected milk to the eye. With this case, respiratory symptoms occurred after direct exposure to an infected cow. Neither individual was wearing full personal protective equipment,” said DHHS Chief Medical Executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian.
She said the incidents have highlighted the importance of protective gear when dealing with infected birds or cattle.
Health department officials recommended people working on poultry or dairy farms get the seasonal flu vaccine. It would not work to prevent the avian infection, but could prevent the seasonal flu from mixing with the avian flu.
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Director Tim Boring said the department would continue the emergency order and assist farms where the virus was found.
Insulin Cap Decreased To $35
The state’s proposed cap on insulin was dropped even further today, from $50 down to $35, as part of a substitute to Rep. Jennifer Conlin (D-Ann Arbor)’s HB 4015 that moved out of committee.
Alex Seasock, Conlin’s legislative aide, said the purpose of the substitute is to achieve alignment with Medicare.
Conlin’s bill, which received a first hearing in February after sitting for over a year, was introduced to address the inability for many of Michigan’s diabetics to afford insulin, with prices between $375 to $1,000 a month resulting in rationing and illegal sales.
The bill was also substituted today with added language regarding “selected insulin products” and “when available,” which Seasock said resulted from conversations with insurers and health plans.
He said the change will allow insurers to ensure that patients have access to at least one of each type of insulin available on the market with a $35 co-pay, and that insurers won’t be penalized if products are removed from the market or end up in short supply.
The bill also changed the effective date to Dec. 31, 2025 “to ensure that there is enough lead time for insurers to prepare for the cap.”
Rep. Mai Xiong (D-Warren) had additional questions about the potential for insurance premiums to rise, and while Seasock said that is one of the arguments that can be made against an insulin cap, “we found that the science has shown, especially from a medical perspective, that adherence to easily accessible insulin with low co-pay caps ensures adherence to the medication . . . through that initial easy access to it, and provides better health outcomes overall.
“So it can, in fact, lower overall health care costs throughout the system as a result of that co-pay cap,” he said.
Rep. William Bruck (R-Erie) also expressed concern that the legislation doesn’t make adjustments for future inflation. While Seasock said aligning the legislation with Medicare was one of their priorities, Conlin’s team would be amenable to exploring that addition in the future.
Those changes weren’t enough to get the National Federation of Independent Businesses or the Michigan Chamber on board, but the Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) supported the bill.
Despite a majority of Republicans passing, and Bruck voting no, the legislation moved to the House floor.
In other news, the committee voted out the 14-bill package adding Michigan to a nationwide licensing system for auto dealers.
Whitsett Calls Message From PA Director ‘A Threat’
Rep. Karen Whitsett (D-Detroit) said she received a message from a lobbyist she feels was threatening and she isn’t happy about it. The lobbyist in question said he didn’t intend for the message to come across as threatening.
Nonetheless, he’s not getting her vote on the issue he approached her about.
In an email to the House member this morning, Michigan Academy of Physician Associates (PA) Executive Director Thadd Gormas said he heard “rumors” that Whitsett planned to oppose a bill, which his association supports.
The bill deals with expanding the definition of a mental health professional to include physician assistants (or physician associates), certified nurse practitioners and specialist-certified clinical nurses to deal with more mental health emergencies. Whitsett doesn’t like the bill because she feels like this is a ticket for more white health professionals to use physical restraints on troubled Black children.
HB 5114 was up for a vote in the House Health Policy Committee this afternoon.
Gormas wrote, “If she decides to oppose HB 5114 without meeting with us to address her concerns, we would consider this a violation of the trust we have extended to her.”
He added, “That is something we take very seriously when communicating with PAs in your community.”
Whitsett said she considered that to be “basically a threat.”
“You can have your feelings one way or another, or want to encourage someone to listen to your side,” she said. “But first off, there’s been months to have that conversation.
“You don’t send me something right before a vote,” Whitsett said. “That’s a threat that I don’t appreciate.”
In response, Gormas said he didn’t intend the message to be threatening. When speaking to MIRS about the correspondence, he said he was referencing the PAs in Whitsett’s district that have previously met with her, and who greatly respect her and her position as Health Policy majority vice chair.
Gormas added that he had reached out to Whitsett’s office and attempted to set up meetings multiple times before today, beginning in March. He said several were rescheduled by Whitsett, before Gormas eventually met with staff in mid-May.
“They said they weren’t aware of any concerns re HB 5114 ,” he said in text correspondence.
Whitsett said, “He has my cell, so he wasn’t trying too hard. I guess his client wasn’t that important to him, until this morning.”
She added that she believes Gormas has had similar encounters with other legislators, too, but that he picked the wrong one today.
The contention surrounds Rep. Carrie A. Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor)’s HB 5114 , which expands the definition of a mental health professional to also include PAs, certified nurse practitioners and certified clinical nurse specialists.
Under the legislation, these groups would now be able to examine patients prior to involuntary treatment and provide treatment recommendations, sign clinical certificates before hospitalization and authorize seclusion or temporary restraints.
During prior testimony before the House Behavioral Health Subcommittee, several behavioral health PAs and Gormas said the legislation would help decrease instances of Michiganders living in mental health professional shortage areas, and could limit more cases of Michiganders dying by suicide.
The bill, which was introduced as part of the bipartisan “Patient-Led Care Bill Package,” is similar to SB 191, which was introduced and passed the Senate in 2021 but then got stuck in the House Health Policy Committee.
That outcome was narrowly avoided again this year, as Whitsett was joined in opposing the bill by Democrat committee members John Fitzgerald (D-Wyoming) and Reggie Milller (D-Belleville), who all abstained.
Immediately following their votes, the committee went at ease for several minutes, during which time Chair Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo) spoke with Minority Vice Chair Curtis VanderWall (R-Ludington).
When the committee returned to order, Vanderwall joined the remaining Democrats on the committee in voting yes on the legislation, and Rheingans’ bill passed with an H-3 substitute, 10-0-9.
Whitsett said she opposes the package because “when you’re talking about restraints and children, bottom line, that’s a red flag for me.”
She added that as a member of the Black community and a representative of Detroit and Dearborn, the legislation could have a greater negative impact on her district.
“Black and brown people are going to be more affected by this,” she said. “We do not have a lot of physicians that actually visit facilities. They will sign off on paperwork and actually never go. So my concern is, how is this really going to be regulated in my area?
“I represent Detroit and Dearborn. I don’t represent PAs,” she said. “That’s not my responsibility. That’s not my job. That’s a lobbyist’s job. Mine are the people who elected me, which is over 90,000 people, and I take care of them.
“And screw that lobbyist,” Whitsett added.
When asked about a potential response to the message from Gormas, Whitsett said she’s not yet sure what else she’s going to do, “but I definitely don’t appreciate it.
“And I do not think that this is the way Lansing does business,” she said.