By BERNARD J. WOLFSON
If you want to create a perfect storm at Covered California and other Affordable Care Act marketplaces, all you have to do is make enrollment more time-consuming, ratchet up the toll on consumers’ pocketbooks, and terminate financial aid for some of the youngest and healthiest enrollees.

And presto: You’ve got people dropping coverage; rising costs; and a smaller, sicker group of enrollees, which translates to higher premiums.

The Trump administration and congressional Republicans have just checked that achievement off their list.

They have done it with the sprawling tax and spending law President Donald Trump signed on July 4 and a related set of new regulations released by the Centers for Medicare [Read More]

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

Students Refunded $99 Fee That Professor Sent To Planned Parenthood

A federal judge dismissed a 2023 lawsuit alleging a Michigan State University professor forced students to pay fees she bragged on Facebook went “100%” to Planned Parenthood.

The plaintiffs, Nathan Barbieri and Nolan Radomski, alleged then-marketing professor Amy Wisner compelled her 600 students to pay a $99 membership fee to join “The Rebellion Community,” which the judge described as “an online global learning platform” Wisner controlled and operated.

U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney ruled that Barbieri and Radomski lack standing because they have “not adequately alleged a current or future injury against” Wisner, who was placed on [Read More]

By STEPHEN SHAVER
Wachler & Associates

Hospice care, once viewed as a relatively quiet corner of the Medicare program, is now under a glaring spotlight. A sharp uptick in provider enrollment, especially in specific regions, combined with mounting evidence of fraud, waste, and abuse, has led the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to escalate oversight efforts. From launching new enrollment monitoring protocols to accelerating disenrollment for alleged bad actors, CMS is reshaping the regulatory landscape for hospice care and enforcement trends across the nation may soon come to hospice providers in Michigan.

At the center of this evolving oversight regime is the Provisional Period of Enhanced Oversight (PPEO) a CMS initiative [Read More]

By DUSTIN PLUMADORE
With the rebound of private equity (“PE”) activity in healthcare across the United States, the Corporate Practice of Medicine and Dentistry (“CPOM” or “CPOD”) has likewise experienced renewed focus by state legislatures and enforcement agencies in 2025.[i]  However, despite this rekindled attention, the often-referenced “Friendly PC” model remains the best structural strategy to ensure post-closing compliance with CPOM and CPOD regulations in most jurisdictions. Constructing a compliant “Friendly PC” structure will probably require the support of expert legal counsel to draft and negotiate the series of agreements necessary for its proper implementation. However, the following paragraphs identify some key considerations for three ancillary agreements, outside of [Read More]

A health trade organization’s leader said state lawmakers have the opportunity to create policies and enact legislation to help healthcare and provider communities following the signing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

Michigan Health and Hospital Association (MHA) CEO Brian Peters said during a virtual press call this morning that one issue comes from restrictions on a state’s ability to tax healthcare providers to finance the state’s Medicaid costs that aren’t covered by federal dollars.

However, he said one of the steps the state could take is to use state resources and dollars to fund Medicaid to make up for what is lost by the moratorium on new or increased provider taxes.

Peters [Read More]

(TROY) – Four Democratic lawmakers representing parts of Oakland County spoke to a filled room about the Medicaid reforms recently signed by President Donald Trump. They predicted heightened administrative costs resulting in services and enrollees being dropped unintentionally, as well as the state having to create new revenue to cover funding losses.

The four Democrats included Reps. Sharon MacDonell (D-Troy) and Natalie Price (D-Berkley), as well as Sens. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) and Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), a 2026 candidate for the U.S. Senate.

The event was held in the Troy Community Center, with more than 110 people inside the room.

Also on their panel were Royal Oak Schools Superintendent Mary Beth Fitzpatrick, Chief Operating Officer Jamie Bragg-Lovejoy of the [Read More]

JESSE A. MARKOS, ESQ.
Wachler & Associates, P.C.

The most recent data provided by the Michigan Health Professional Recovery Program (HPRP) for the fiscal year 2024 indicates that a significant percentage of health care providers receiving treatment through HPRP have been subsequently reported by the program to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) for disciplinary action.  Of course, health professionals struggling with substance abuse should immediately seek treatment. However, the data regarding the percentage of referrals to HPRP that result in disciplinary action suggests that this recovery program may not be the right choice for all providers.

Michigan’s HPRP was established to help health care providers struggling with substance abuse [Read More]

DAVID J. DAVIDSON, ESQ.
Dickinson Wright

Much has been written about the healthcare policy changes implemented by the 2025 Trump administration. President Trump has issued numerous Executive Orders that establish new policies and rescind actions taken by previous administrations. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is overhauling and refocusing Health & Human Services. Dr. Mehmet Oz is implementing new policies at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and auditing Medicare Advantage plans (of which he has been a historical proponent). The Food & Drug Administration is revising its Generally Regarded as Safe standards, fast-tracking approvals of new drugs, minimizing animal testing, and increasing its use of Artificial Intelligence. The National Institute of Health [Read More]

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

Report On Psychiatric Bed Shortage To Come

In a House committee’s final hearing on the psychiatric bed shortage, Chair Matthew Bierlein (R-Vassar) said the House Oversight Subcommittee on Public Health and Food Security will be compiling a comprehensive report on what they’ve learned and will be recommending legislation based on that.

Bierlein said his office fully intends to continue meeting and collaborating to produce a report based on committee testimony and turn that into legislative recommendations.

One such suggestion would be to invest money in psychiatric beds to reduce the strain on jails, emergency rooms and local law enforcement, which [Read More]