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Organ Donor Education May Be Mandatory Part Of 9th Grade
A pandemic-era change to Michigan’s driver’s training program means new drivers may wait in fewer Secretary of State lines, but reworked visit schedules means they will also be asked to opt in as an organ donor before completing an educational segment about the registry.
The solution? Rep. Felicia Brabec (D-Ann Arbor) proposed the creation of an hour-long organ donor education program for Michigan’s ninth graders.
Patrick Wells-O’Brien, vice president of communications and external relations for non-profit registry Gift of Life Michigan, said Michigan is in the middle of the pack nationally when it comes to state organ donor registries, with 4.5 million Michiganders on the registry, or 57 percent of the state’s population.
He added that 95 percent of those registry opt-ins come from the SOS questionnaire for new and renewal licenses, but those new registrations are now coming in much slower than usual, especially among young drivers.
Wells-O’Brien said only 21 percent of new drivers today are registering as organ donors, which he called “abysmally low” compared to other states, which are closer to 40 or 50 percent.
This could ultimately lead to registry numbers declining, he said.
“I don’t think it’s because Michigan teenagers are less generous. Michigan teenagers are not less generous,” he said. “They’re uninformed. They are uneducated.”
Wells-O’Brien said there are about 10 minutes of organ donor education housed in the second segment of driver’s training programs.
However, he said young drivers now go to the SOS only once while obtaining their license, after Segment 1 of driver’s training when they get their permit, a change that happened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“No new driver in Michigan is educated about organ donation before being presented with the question,” he said. “It’s too little information, too late.”
He added that as fewer students in total get their license and go through driver’s education, at close to 56 percent right now, those who don’t complete the program at all also don’t learn about organ donation.
Brabec’s solution is an educational program created by the Department of Education (MDE) and third parties and taught to all Michigan ninth graders, regardless of their driver’s training participation.
Her HB 5174 would include at least an hour of instruction on organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation programs, including the Michigan Organ Donor Registry, starting with the 2025-2026 school year.
Parents could opt their student out on written request, and instruction could be given outside typical school curriculum, like at an assembly.
Wells-O’Brien said currently, Gift of Life Michigan is financially able to visit approximately one-third of Michigan’s 1,800 schools each year in conjunction with public educators, but they “can’t get into all of them” without legislative assistance.
“We need this bill in order to make this program available,” he said. “It’s no more than an hour of this critical information. It doesn’t cost the state any money. It doesn’t cost the schools any money. It doesn’t inconvenience teachers, because we have a turnkey program of a video and discussion guides that, if we can’t be there, it’s very low burden for the teacher or the school to implement our program, and it doesn’t even have to be our program.”
House Fiscal analysis found the bill could slightly increase costs for local school districts, and would cost the state one full-time position and around $200,000 for a consultant to create a model program and guidance for districts.
Rep. Gina Johnsen (R-Lake Odessa) expressed concern that the bill could be an added burden to schools. It was opposed by Oakland Schools and the Wayne Regional Educational Service Agency.
Wells-O’Brien responded that when looking at the burden on schools, and why legislators should add another thing, they should look at the importance of the organ donor registry.
“This is so important that it’s the only thing on a driver’s license,” he said. “You have state agencies maintaining a database to save lives, and we go through all this effort to ask the question now, on state tax forms, at the Secretary of State, and we don’t educate.”
The bill was supported by the American Kidney Fund, the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan and the Michigan Department of Education.
Pharmacists May Be Allowed To Prescribe Birth Control
Pharmacists would be able to prescribe hormonal contraceptives such as the pill, the ring and the patch, and insurance providers would be required to cover a 12-month supply of prescription contraceptives if ordered by a physician under HB 5345, HB 5346 and HB 5013, which received testimony in the House Health Policy Committee early this month.
The bills would benefit Michiganders in the counties that don’t have an OB/GYN, or for women who don’t have access to a healthcare center that offers a full range of contraceptives, said HB 5346 sponsor Rep. Kara Hope (D-Lansing).
Since hormonal contraceptives are used to manage irregular menstrual cycles, endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome, among other conditions, Planned Parenthood of Michigan Chief Medical Operating Officer Dr. Sarah Wallett said the monthly pickup is an unnecessary barrier.
Nearly one-third of hormonal contraceptive users miss taking their birth control because they were unable to get their next supply, Rogers said, which often happens when users are required to make a trip to the pharmacy every month. This sacrifices the medication’s efficacy.
Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia already allow this. To prescribe birth control, the pharmacist would complete a Board of Pharmacy approved training and the patient would complete a self-screening risk assessment.
Wallett said she asks about medical history and administers a blood pressure check before prescribing birth control.
Rep. Jamie Thompson (R-Brownstown) asked the pharmacists testifying how they would run a patient’s bloodwork. Wallett said the blood tests aren’t required to prescribe oral contraceptives and aren’t suggested by major medical organizations.
“I’m glad I worked for a really thorough doctor,” Thompson said.
Rep. Curtis VanderWall (R-Ludington) had a few questions for Rogers about her HB 5013. What if a person fills a 12-month prescription on the last month of their insurance plan before they leave? Wouldn’t that cause a burden on the insurance provider? If a patient picks up 12 months of the medication and decides it’s not suitable for them, would the remaining 11 months just go to waste? Is there a consultation with a doctor required before the pharmacist can start prescribing to that patient?
Hope said that could also happen with a 90-day supply, but there’s not a way to prevent that. She also said a physician could be included in the conversation, but it’s not required.
“My wife is an OB/GYN. We love birth control,” said Rep. Graham Filler (R-St. Johns) said, followed by laughter throughout the room. “Rephrase, your honor?”
Subcommittee Recommendations in bills reported from the House Behavioral Health Subcommittee, HB 5077 and HB 5078, would expand the ability of government agencies to distribute naloxone, a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose.
Currently, the agencies can only administer it, and there is confusion over whether they can distribute it to community partners such as churches or libraries. Subcommittee Chair Rep. Felicia Brabec (D-Ann Arbor) said these bills would make it clear what the agencies can do with naloxone to get it in the hands of individuals who need it.
HB 5179 deals with fentanyl test strips and the definition of drug paraphernalia. Currently, an individual caught with the test strips could be prosecuted for possession of drug paraphernalia. However, the potency and prevalence of fentanyl in other more “casual” drugs, like marijuana in the example Brabec gave, can be fatal, and decriminalizing the device that could be used to prevent that fatal overdose is a recommendation the subcommittee gave to the House Health Policy Committee.
The law originated in the 1970s, and bill sponsor Rep. Carrie A. Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor) said it was written to criminalize anything that could be used to test potency when “cooking up drugs” and trying to make them more potent rather than testing for the presence of unwanted narcotics.
Brabec said in 2022 almost 3,000 Michiganders died from an opioid-related overdose, and Rheingans said testing recreational drugs is a good public health practice.
All three bills were reported with recommendation.
Ex-NECC Owner Enters Plea In 2012 Fatal Meningitis Case
The former owner of New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts pleaded no contest early this month in connection to the 2012 deaths of 11 Michigan residents in the fungal meningitis outbreak.
Barry Cadden entered his plea to 11 counts of involuntary manslaughter in Livingston County’s Circuit Court. His plea deal includes a sentencing agreement of 10 to 15 years behind bars, said Attorney General Dana Nessel.
“Cadden ran his pharmaceutical lab with a shocking and abhorrent disregard for basic safety rules and practices, and in doing so he tragically killed 11 Michigan patients,” Nessel said, noting Cadden disregarded sterility procedures and endorsing test results that were “regularly forged and fabricated.”
“. . . Patients must be able to trust their medications are safe, and doctors must be assured they aren’t administering deadly poison. My office has worked closely with the families of these victims, and we’ve ensured that this plea fits their desire for closure and justice,” she added.
In 2012, a nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak resulted in 64 deaths, 11 the result of injection treatments at the Michigan Pain Specialists Clinic (MPS) in Livingston County.
Patients at the clinic were given epidural injections of the steroid methylprednisolone, which was compounded and produced at Cadden’s NECC in Massachusetts and shipped to MPS.
Donna Kruzich, Paula Brent, Lyn Laperriere, Mary Plettl, Gayle Gipson, Patricia Malafouris, Emma TODD, Jennie Barth, Ruth Madouse, Sally Roe and Karina Baxter died as a result of being injected with the contaminated drug.
The AG’s office began investigative action against Cadden in 2013 and charged him with 11 counts of second-degree murder in 2018.
A no- contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but is treated as such at sentencing, which is set for April 18.
Cadden’s state sentence will run concurrent to his 14.5 years’ incarceration in federal court, where he was found guilty in 2017 of 57 criminal charges.
Military Health Care May Be Expanded To Reservists
A Rep. Will Snyder (D-Muskegon) bill allowing Michigan National Guard reservists into a military health care program that allows them to be seen by civilian doctors heard testimony today before the House Military, Veterans and Homeland Security Committee.
Simply put, Snyder said his HB 5433 ensures that all members of the Guard have access to Tricare, at a time when 22 percent of Michigan Guard members, or 2,200 people, lack access to health and dental coverage.
Currently, Guard members are provided with Tricare coverage only if they are full-time employees or while serving on active duty. Reservists are not provided with the same benefits.
Syder said in more recent years, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs has seen reservists delaying medical care and procedures until they’re called for active duty, when their healthcare coverage kicks in.
“Some troops called into service are delayed from deployment until after recovering from necessary medical procedures to get them battle-ready,” he said, which further exacerbates personnel strain when Michigan’s National Guard must support national defense strategy or respond to state emergencies.
“Closing this gap to ensure all Guard members have access to these critical benefits would both help alleviate a financial burden on guardsmen while also increasing Michigan National Guard personal strength and readiness levels,” he said.
His bill would require the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to create and operate the “Tricare premium reimbursement program,” which the department could use to award reimbursement grants to eligible Guard or military reserve members for individual coverage through either the Tricare reserve select healthcare program, Tricare dental program or both.
Eligible members would apply for reimbursement through an application available online.
Creating and implementing the program would increase ongoing Department costs for two additional full-time positions and $300,000 annually to administer the program without affecting reimbursement processing time, along with additional costs depending on the number of Guard members who need reimbursement.
With around 2,200 reservists in Michigan without healthcare coverage and current monthly premiums around $48.47 for healthcare and $12.36 for dental insurance, Snyder said the cost to cover them will be about $730 per service member, or between $1.6 and $2 million.
Program reimbursement expenses together with administrative staffing expenses would total $1.9 million annually.
The bill was supported by Sen. Sam Singh (D-East Lansing), who has an identical Senate package and who believes both bills will help benefit National Guard recruitment, retention and troop readiness.
Maryland is the first state to have enacted similar legislation, giving Michigan the potential to be the second, he said.
The bills were also supported by Brigadier General Ravi Wagh and Lieutenant Colonel Karen Sims on behalf of the Army and Air National Guards, the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the American Legion Department of Michigan.