By SUZANNE SUKKAR & KATHLEEN CAMPBELL WALKER

The nursing profession vital signs are unstable and require an intervention. The single largest occupation of health care workers is Registered Nurses (RN). It is also the fifth largest profession nationally.[1] Yet the nursing profession is facing extreme shortages as the need for health care workers grows. Specifically, according to data projections, the United States (US) will have a shortage of RNs resulting from an aging population and significant numbers of nurses nearing retirement age.[2] Compounding the situation is US nursing schools’ limited capacity to enroll nursing students into programs due to the lack of faculty, limited clinical placements [Read More]

Lansing Lines is presented in cooperation with MIRS, a Lansing-based news and information service.

Thompson Wants House Hearings Held About Hawthorn, Walter Reuther Hospital

In a letter to House Behavioral Health Subcommittee Chair Felicia Brabec (D-Ann Arbor), Rep. Jamie Thompson (R-Brownstown) requested the subcommittee hold a hearing to look at instances where the state juvenile mental health system has failed greater Detroit families.

She specifically referenced the Walter Reuther Psychiatric Hospital in Wayne County, which is temporarily housing children within an adult facility, and the Hawthorn Center in Novi, which lawmakers have previously requested an audit of.

In addition to the 17 patient escapes Thompson said have been reported since 2020, the center was recently subjected to [Read More]

Ahead of national physician assistant (PA) week, Oct. 6-12, several House members introduced a bipartisan, four-bill package including PA’s under the blanket of mental health professionals and changing their title to “physician associate.”

The bills, sponsored by Reps. Carrie A. Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor), Donavan McKinney (D-Detroit), Reggie Miller (D-Belleville) and Curtis VanderWall (R-Ludington), create the “Patient-Led Care Bill Package,” which Rheingans said will improve patient access to care, “while also reducing some of the red tape that’s standing in the way of physician assistants.”

Rheingans’ bill, which she said was read in this afternoon, would address the 3.5 million Michiganders living in a health provider shortage area, including the 38% of Michiganders who experience a mental illness [Read More]

By SUSAN ADELMAN, MD
The British have a one-payor public healthcare system, the National Health Service (NHS), which pays for most medical care in the UK. For the rest, many NHS doctors also see patients privately, and a number of others have strictly private practices. As our English cousins explained, the NHS has been breaking down and running short of money for years. Now, the aftermath of COVID and the onset of serious inflation have stimulated widespread strikes. And for the first time, both junior doctors and consultants are walking out together nation-wide for three to four days at a time. The issues are both financial and matters of patient care. [Read More]

By EWA MATUSZEWSKI
When you hear the name, Salvation Army, you think Red Kettle, right? As you should; but don’t just think about bell ringing at the holidays. Salvation Army, a faith-based, nonprofit organization dedicated to serving people in need without discrimination, can be an excellent partner to physician organizations and other healthcare groups seeking sustainable change in the community through grass roots efforts.

While I’ve been on the Metro Detroit Advisory Board of the of the Salvation Army since 2021, I was not asked to write about the organization. I just can’t help myself. Our working relationship started in 2020, when MedNetOne Health Solutions collaborated with the Salvation Army to bring [Read More]

By JENNIFER COLAGIOVANNI
Wachler & Associates, PC

In August 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced its strategic plan for managed care oversight.  OIG’s plan involves rigorous oversight of managed care plans while also closely coordinating with the plans in the efforts to fight fraud, waste, and abuse. OIG’s plan will scrutinize Medicare and Medicaid managed care contracts from inception through enrollment, reimbursement, services, and renewal. In order to address fraud, waste, and abuse risks, the goal of OIG’s plan is to hold Medicare Advantage organizations (MAOs) and Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) accountable.

Currently, more than half of Medicare enrollees and [Read More]

By ALLISON TUOHY & MARK E. WILSON
In an age of highly polarized opinions, there is a common consensus to address the rapidly rising health care costs in the United States. Research shows that the US average gross national product for health care costs is 17.1% while the rest of the world average is about 10.6%; the US missing that mark costs $1.7 trillion per year. There are numerous opinions and beliefs on how to achieve significant savings in health care without sacrificing quality of care.

Many believe that the current “fee-for-service” model simply incentivizes the health care system to treat “sick” patient symptoms rather than to practice preventative care. [Read More]

When I started out as a reporter, I got to know the major players in healthcare in Michigan. Most came from Metro Detroit or Lansing. A few came from West Michigan. But there was this one guy who worked for a county medical society in the middle of the state who seemed to be involved in all of the major health policy debates and a bunch of obscure ones.

He was a bear of a man, tall and broad in stature with a booming voice and loud laugh that had the playful ring of childhood on the edges. He brought passion and caring to every issue on his docket. And he [Read More]

Lansing Lines is presented in cooperation with MIRS, a Lansing-based news and information service.

Immigrant Children, Pregnant Women Wouldn’t Need To Wait For Medicaid Under Bill

The five-year waiting period for immigrant children and pregnant women to be able to use Medicaid services in Michigan would be waived under a bill taken up by a House committee early this month.

Rep. Alabas A. Farhat (D-Dearborn) told the House Insurance and Financial Services Committee that HB 4740 would help the lives of immigrants while addressing infant mortality and children’s health issues.

“It’s transformational for some lives and helps ensure that there are safe patches for that child,” Farhat said.

Sara Ismail of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services [Read More]

Six bills rolling back 30 years of abortion restrictions put on the books by Republican majorities moved through a House committee this morning, but their future in the full chamber is dubious after one Democrat came out against them and more may be on the way.

Rep. Karen Whitsett (D-Detroit) issued a press release two minutes before today’s House Health Policy Committee that she would not support the 11-bill Reproductive Health Act, which includes legalization of late-term elective abortions.

One piece of the package allows taxpayer money to fund elective abortions, which Whitsett said she could not support at a time when many seniors in her district live in poverty.

“Elderly citizens across our state are forced [Read More]