Lansing Lines is presented in cooperation with MIRS, a Lansing-based news and information service.
Anti-Prop 3 Campaign Going On Air With ‘Puberty Blocker’ Argument
The latest anti-Proposal 3 TV ad is making the claim that “sterilization” language in the proposed constitutional amendment would legally allow gender-changing-seeking minors to receive puberty-blocking drugs without their parents’ consent.
The “conversation is going to take a turn” said anti-Prop 3 consultant Fred Wzsolek for an anti-Proposal 3 side that’s averaging about $2.25 million a week on broadcast media.
Proposal 3, the constitutional amendment to overturn the 1931 Michigan abortion ban, also includes extreme policies “hidden behind the words,” said Christen Pollo of Citizens to Support MI Women and Children, the group putting out the ad.
Pollo said it’s “no secret that some want to cash in on the booming market for gender change therapies.”
“That’s why Planned Parenthood started dispensing these drugs in Michigan this year,” he said. “But what few understand is that their business plan includes a dangerous constitutional amendment that would allow them to provide these drugs to kids without the knowledge or consent of their parents.”
The 30-second ad, titled “Blocker,” starts with shots of a drug called Triptorelin, which is used to treat accelerated bone growth in children and accelerated prostate cancer in adults, but can also be used as a form of hormone replacement therapy for transgender people.
“This drug blocks a child from going through puberty,” the ad says. “It’s the first step in gender change therapy. Clinics prescribe this in Michigan.”
“If proposal 3 passes, minors as young as 10 or 11 will be able to receive this prescription without the consent of their parents, or their parents even knowing” it goes on to say.
“They call it reproductive freedom. We call it extreme.”
Pollo said language including the word “sterilization” in the proposal opens an “entire Pandora’s box of gender change therapies and ‘gender-affirming care’ to children, without their parent’s knowledge.” While a lack of the term “adult” or mention of consent requirements for minors means the initiative intended for the new rights to apply to individuals of any age, he said.
“If the sponsors of this proposal wanted the ‘individual’ ‘fundamental right’ to reproductive freedom to only apply to adults, they would have written that,” he said. “They could have used the word ‘adult’ or ‘individual over the age of 18’ in their language. They didn’t.
“The sponsors of Proposal 3 have a radical agenda, but they are not stupid. They wrote the proposal exactly how they wanted it, and we’re now exposing that agenda for all to see,” he said.
After MIRS tweeted about the ad, one user compared Proposal 3 to other Michigan constitutional language, making the argument that “every person has a right to keep and bear arms,” but children aren’t able to legally own firearms.
And as the debate over what’s included in Proposal 3 continues, proponents of the ballot initiative also put out a 30-second TV spot.
The ad, titled “Panoply,” paints the proposal as much simpler: a yes vote on the proposal is a vote for a woman’s right to choose.
“The Supreme Court overturned our rights. Now, a 1931 law that bans abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, could take effect,” it begins.
“So here’s a simple question: Do you believe women should have the right to decide? Yes? Then vote ‘yes’ on Proposal 3.”
The $356,691 cable ad buy from Reproductive Freedom For All will run from October 10 through October 24, with the biggest spend in Detroit with $133,560 reported.
Darci McConnell, communications director for Reproductive Freedom for All, said “it’s important that people understand their choices when it comes to Proposal 3, and this ad succinctly shows the options and the gravity of this decision.”
“A yes vote ensures that residents have access to all forms of reproductive care, while the alternative would cause a near-total ban on abortion and reproductive care.”
Covid Impact On Gyms: How Bad Was It?
Before COVID, the Michigan Fitness Club Association (MFCA) was thriving at about 1,100 members.
After COVID restrictions shut down the gyms for months on end, the banks started confiscating equipment and property from those places that were behind in their payments.
At that point, the number plummeted to 400 or so.
Now, MFCA President Bryan Rief reports the 700 left standing are feeling, “the worst is over for the industry. We’re going in the right direction.”
The influx of $8.5 million from the Legislature in the recent supplemental should help in that regard, he said.
“We’re incredibility grateful for the $8.5 million. We’re optimistic,” he reports even though the original ask was $51 million.
Compared to other parts of the country, the industry in Michigan has not rebounded at the same pace, Rief reported. However, there is a new influx of younger patrons who are not as worried about the COVID issue as the Baby-Boomers and Gen X folks who are.
As for the concerns over COVID, the gyms are no longer contact tracing and they are not seeing any outbreaks. Those were the original fears that surrounded the earlier debate over re-opening those facilities.
He argues that keeping these facilities open is very important in this post-pandemic climate as many folks are overweight, over-stressed and need to get in shape. “We are part of the public health system,” he said.
Rief is hopeful there will be another chance at another supplemental down the road but for now, “we’ve stabilized.”
Judge Dismisses Felony Charges In Flint Water Crisis
A Genesee County Circuit Court judge threw out felony charges against seven former state officials charged in connection with the Flint water crisis.
Genesee County Judge Elizabeth Kelly’s order follows the Michigan Supreme Court’s ruling that a one-judge grand jury cannot issue indictments.
“Simply put, there are no valid charges to remand for preliminary examination,” the judge’s six-page opinion reads.
The ruling is a loss for the Attorney General’s Flint water crisis team, led by Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who dismissed pending charges in 2019 brought under the former AG’s special prosecution team.
Hammoud’s team asked the court to send the charges against the defendants – former Gov. Rick Snyder’s communications director Jarrod Agen and advisor Richard Baird; former Flint emergency managers Gerald Ambrose and Darnell Earley; former health director Nicholas Lyon and employee Nancy Peeler; and former chief medical officer Eden Wells – for a preliminary examination.
But, Kelly noted that as a result of the Supreme Court ruling,” anything arising out of the invalid indictments are irreconcilably tainted from inception.”
In a statement, the prosecution team vowed to “exhaust all available legal options to pursue this case and that pledge remains,” but whether they can against all current defendants is less certain.
Harold Gurewitz, attorney for Peeler, said the AG’s office could, theoretically, try again to reissue charges, but the six-year statute of limitations has passed for his client.
Kelly did not rule on the argument the statute of limitations has run out, essentially leaving that until a time the state recharges.
“We’re both very pleased this has finally occurred,” Gurewitz said about the dismissal. “The judge’s decision affirms the use of the one-man grand jury to prosecute my client was wrong from the beginning and dismissal is welcomed.”
However, Lyon could potentially face a third round of charges as he faced allegations of involuntary manslaughter, which has a 10-year statute of limitations.
Lyon’s attorney, Charles Chamberlin, and Well’s attorney, Steven Tramontin, both have repeatedly tried to get the court to rule on the merits of the cases against their clients, but the courts haven’t ruled.
In 2019, it was believed now-retired Circuit Judge Joseph Farah would “severely undercut” the prosecution’s theories, but before a decision could come, Hammoud’s team dismissed the charges and started over.
“Director Lyon is confident that a fair and impartial investigation would exonerate him,” Chamberlain said. “… The prosecution has resorted to misleading and unfounded public statements about the case indicating it may file charges – for a third time.
“There was no basis in 2017 to charge Director Lyon, no basis in 2021 to charge him again and there is no basis today,” he added.
Tramontin, and co-counsel Jerry Lax, noted that criminal charges against Wells are also “meritless” and “should end now.”
The defense attorneys have fought the indictments since they were issued in January 2021 and one of their chief arguments has been the use of the one-person grand jury process and the lack of a taint team.
Agen’s attorney, Charlie Spies, said Kelly’s ruling “validates that this case was always a political prosecution, with the phony indictment … only secured through illegitimate and unethical means.”
“We appreciate the multiple judges that have ruled Attorney General Dana Nessel’s failed train wreck of a case against her political opponents,” Spies said.
Baird’s attorney, Randall Levine, said the government “deliberately chose” the “archaic statute” … hoping to deny him a right to preliminary examination.”
Gurewitz said the one-person grand jury statute has needed to be addressed for decades as the U.S. Supreme Court twice criticized it, in 1948 and 1958. In the 1948 ruling, In re Oliver, the high court called Michigan’s one-person grand jury process “unique” and “peculiar.”
Gurewitz said the issue is now clarified, and he’s “pleased for that reason as well.”
The AG’s Flint water prosecution team disagrees, saying the tool has been used and “historically upheld by the appellate courts.”
“However, it was not until its use in this case against these privileged and well-funded defendants that the courts did see fit to overturn established precedent and procedure,” the team’s statement reads. “… There are not adequate words to express the anger and disappointment felt by our team, who have spent years on this case only to see it thwarted based upon a new interpretation of a nearly century-old law.”
In a separate order, Kelly affirmed her November 2021 protective order prohibiting additional release of confidential or privileged documents, which had been released prior to the defense attorneys.
Kelly’s order does not apply to Snyder or Howard Croft, who are charged in District Court with misdemeanors.
Snyder’s attorney, Brian Lennon, said Snyder’s case is still on appeal from the District Court to Circuit Court Judge F. Kay Behm, with their brief due Monday. Oral argument in that case is set for Oct. 26.
Gov Directs Michigan Departments To Look Into The Business Of Making Insulin
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive today asking the state departments to come up with ways to lower the cost of insulin, which could include making it.
Whitmer said the state has made medicines before and used that as her basis for looking into the creation of a state-owned manufacturer of insulin that would essentially give out the medicine to diabetics at the cost it would take to make.
“Our neighbors, family, and friends with diabetes need insulin to survive and for too long, drug companies have been jacking up prices, forcing them to make impossible choices between medication, food, rent, or other bills,” Whitmer said.
The Biologic Products Division of the Department of Public Health started making vaccines for tetanus, rabies, pertussis, diphtheria, typhoid and anthrax. The lab also produced fractionated blood plasma until the lab was sold off by former Gov. John Engler. The sale of the Michigan Biological Products Institute was put forward to the Michigan House in 1996 by former Rep. Don Gilmer, of Kalamazoo.
The State Administrative Board approved a bid from BioPort Corporation to buy the laboratory for nearly $25 million in 1998.
Michigan Association of Health Plans Executive Director Dominick Pallone said the state got into the business of making the vaccines because there was a shortage of them and the cost was spiraling out of control.
“They gave it out at cost to the local health departments for them to administer to anybody, regardless of ability to pay,” Pallone said.
He said his group is excited to see what the state can do to produce insulin even if it turns out to be a private company, as long as the price comes down.
He said the market has been dominated by three manufactures that have continued to raise prices every year.
The American Diabetes Association data shows 912,794 people in Michigan have diabetes and those people have more medical expenses that are more than two times higher than those who do not have the disease, which is the seventh highest cause of death in the nation.
The cost of insulin in the U.S. is about 800% more expensive than in other countries, according to the ADA.
“Access to insulin can make all the difference to the health of nearly 1 million Michiganders suffering from diabetes,” Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian said. “But high prices make it difficult for many diabetics to access the insulin they need to manage their condition.”
President Joe Biden recently signed the Inflation Reduction Act which would allow Medicare to negotiate the price for insulin and put a $35-per-month cap on the drug.
Sen. Curtis VanderWall (R-Ludington) passed a resolution through the Senate that asked Whitmer to help do something about the prices for people not on Medicaid.
“This gives us an opportunity to bypass some of the red tape and actually provide the people that use insulin at a huge reduction in cost,” VanderWall said.
He said prescription drugs needed to be reformed, but insulin was a special case because of the impact that the price was having on people.
“This is a perfect opportunity for the state to be a leader and I’m glad I’m a part of it,” VanderWall said.
Whitmer’s directive also ordered state departments to look into anything else that could be done to help reduce the cost of insulin.
In January, the Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation into drug companies raising the prices and said the companies were hiding behind a “wrongly interpreted” Michigan Consumers Protection Act.
She said the Consumer Protection Team is ready go after the companies after arguments are heard by the Michigan State Supreme Court regarding the Michigan Consumers Protection Act.
“No Michigander should forgo life-saving medicine because they cannot afford to pay the price set by drug companies,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said. “Enough is enough.”
Tele-Health For Occupational Therapy If Michigan Joins Compact
A Rep. Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo) bill adding Michigan to the Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact was introduced last Wednesday and received bipartisan support, Rogers said.
The Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact is a joint effort of the American Occupational Therapy Association and National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy to address interstate practices for licensed occupational therapists and therapy assistants.
The compact is currently composed of 22 other states, with two other introducing legislation similar to Rogers’ bill.
HB 6446 would enter Michigan into the compact and enact it into state law, Rogers said, which would increase provider mobility, enable tele-health and protect consumers by sharing disciplinary information across state lines.
Rogers said she introduced the bill in response to a lack of providers in Michigan.
“As a physical therapist, I work hand in hand with occupational therapists to help people improve their health by building function and skills,” she said. “I have seen the difference occupational therapy can make in a person’s life, but all too often, we don’t have the providers to meet those needs.”
Cathleen Johnson, lead of the executive committee for the Michigan Occupational Therapy Association, said joining the compact would “increase portability and accountability for occupations therapists in our region.”
The bill awaits action in the House.
MDHHS Allows Yearly Public Comment On List Of Drugs Covered By Medicaid
The Department of Health and Human Services held its annual meeting to get information on the list of prescriptions covered by Medicaid in the state.
People on Medicaid, the Healthy Michigan Plan and other interested parties were able to submit questions and get answers regarding the Medicaid Health Plan Common Formulary, which is a plan from 2016 to streamline drug coverage policies.
“The state takes that input and then just tells us which drugs are on the formulary or not. The state then makes that decision and the plans then align their formularies so there is no discrepancy from plan to plan,” said Dominic Pallone, executive director of the Michigan Association of Health Plans.
MDHHS officials said that all plans must at least cover the drugs listed under the formulary. The list is available online.
Pallone said everything with certain drugs, such as prior authorization, is done through the process of the formulary.
Starting Oct. 1, 2020, Medicaid plans were required to follow the Michigan Preferred Drug List, which sets the formulary.
Anyone wanting to ask questions but wasn’t able to go to the meeting can email [email protected]. The questions are reviewed quarterly in a meeting.