By JULIE APPLEBY
Subsidies. Love ’em or hate them, they dominated the news during the Affordable Care Act’s sign-up season, and their reduction is now hitting many enrollees in the pocketbook.

While lawmakers continue to disagree on a way forward, and the politics of affordability keeps the issue front and center, it would be understandable to think these are the only taxpayer-funded health insurance subsidies in the U.S. system.

But that would be wrong.

“The vast majority of people with health insurance get some kind of federal subsidy for it, from Medicaid to Medicare to the ACA to employer-sponsored insurance,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, a health information nonprofit that [Read More]

Facing a $1.8 billion budget hole going into Fiscal Year 2027, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed last month an $88.1 billion spending plan based on roughly $800 million in tax increases, $630 million in cuts and $400 million from the rainy day fund.

The plan puts a premium on preventing cuts to Medicaid, the health program that roughly 1 in 4 Michiganders count on to cover their care. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) pushed new eligibility requirements and costs for Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients onto the states.

“We can talk about efficiencies,” said Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing). “We can talk about tightening our belts and [Read More]

Nurses in Michigan would be guaranteed eight consecutive hours of time off after working a 12-hour shift, under legislation by Sens. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) and Ed McBroom (R-Waucedah Twp.).

“It pains me that after decades of nurses organizing and mobilizing for safer guardrails, so little has truly changed,” said Kimberly Rackley, a fourth-generation nurse working at Borgess Health in Kalamazoo.

Rackley testified in support of SB 296 and SB 297 in front of the Senate Regulatory Affairs Committee this morning, which heard testimony on the legislation. Rackley described working as part of an open-heart surgical team, and how the team must be available 24 hours daily in order for the hospital to maintain its Level II [Read More]

By DANIEL AYYASH

Wachler & Associates, P.C.

On Dec. 31, 2025, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released a fourth temporary Rule extending certain controlled substance prescribing flexibilities through Dec. 31, 2026. The Rule maintains the DEA’s position on controlled substance prescribing via telehealth that has been in place since the beginning of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). By extending these flexibilities, healthcare providers have extra time to make preparations in the event that pre-PHE telemedicine prescribing requirements are revived, and also gives the DEA time to evaluate whether a more permanent framework for telemedicine controlled substance prescribing can be implemented.

Background

Prior to the beginning of the COVID-19 PHE and the prescribing flexibilities [Read More]

By DAVID J. DAVIDSON
Dickinson Wright

2025 was a busy year for federal health law, with several major laws, regulations, and policy changes. Many of these will still be relevant in 2026. The following is a brief overview of the most significant developments and what they may mean going forward.

1. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA)

The OBBBA was a comprehensive reconciliation bill enacted in mid-2025.  The law includes noteworthy changes to federal health policy, including changes to Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The law addresses health coverage and federal program integrity, along with new eligibility and verification requirements for ACA marketplace enrollment.  The phasing out of enhanced [Read More]

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

A Little Fire Smoldering Over Surgical Smoke

The House Health Policy Committee watched a demonstration last month showing how quickly surgical smoke can accumulate when a cautery device is used without a smoke evacuation system.

The presentation accompanied testimony on HB 4779 , which would require health facilities performing smoke-producing procedures to develop and implement a policy to clear the air of these surgical areas.

During the demonstration, a representative from the medical device company Stryker used a Bovie cautery device inside a sealed container to simulate what occurs in an operating room when tissue is cut or blood vessels [Read More]

The Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) blasted Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Mike Rogers for his perceived position on healthcare Tuesday, framing it as supportive of the insurance premium hikes that thousands of Americans are encountering early this year.

In a virtual press conference, Michigan Democrats deployed what’s proved to be a salient line of attack for the party as it approaches the 2026 midterms, saying rising health insurance costs are now factoring into a broader “affordability crisis.” Furthermore, speakers took a populist tone, accusing Rogers of being “out of touch” with such economic hardships, given his wealth.

“He’s someone who supports Medicaid cuts while he lives up in his Florida mansion,” said MDP Chair [Read More]

The flu, COVID-19 and other seasonal viruses have smashed into state residents, and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases have surged as vaccination rates continue to plummet in the state.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) reported the end of December saw very high activity of influenza cases that were among the nation’s highest. The state saw an 11.3% increase with a total of 13,568 patients going to the hospital with flu-like symptoms.

“Flu is not a mild illness for many children. Every year, children become seriously ill from flu complications that really could have been prevented by vaccination. Some of these children require intensive care, and children and adolescents who [Read More]

By MARTHA BEBINGER

Inside a cancer research laboratory on the campus of Harvard Medical School, two dozen small jars with pink plastic lids sat on a metal counter. Inside these humble-looking jars is the core of Joan Brugge’s current multiyear research project.

Brugge lifted up one of the jars and gazed at it with reverence. Each jar holds samples of breast tissue donated by patients after they underwent a tissue biopsy or breast surgery — samples that may reveal a new way to prevent breast cancer.

Brugge and her research team have analyzed the cell structure of more than 100 samples.

Using high-powered microscopes and complex computer algorithms, they diagram each stage in the [Read More]

By KATHLEEN CAMPBELL WALKER
Dickinson Wright

In fiscal year 2024, approximately 8,492 H-1B visas were approved for workers in medicine and health occupations.1 The American Medical Association and over 50 national specialty societies and state medical associations expressed serious concerns over the $100,000 H-1B fee imposed by the Presidential Proclamation, warning that it could worsen the U.S. physician shortage, projected to reach 86,000 by 2036, including a shortage of 50,440 psychiatrists.2 The groups urged the Department of Homeland Security to exempt foreign physicians from this fee. Educators are also a major group using H-1B visas, with nearly 30,000 petitions approved in 2024, often for positions in rural areas.3

The H-1B Presidential Proclamation, effective [Read More]