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

MDHHS Receives Part Of $800M Opioid Settlement Payment

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services was approved to spend $39.2 million of the $800 million that would go to state and local governments from the $26 billion settlement from the three largest pharmaceutical distributors and Johnson & Johnson.

MDHHS said the funds would be spent toward treatment providers, recovery supports, harm reduction, and prevention programs for people with substance abuse disorders.

“In Michigan, we are using this long-term funding to address the multi-generational impact of the opioid epidemic as well as address racial disparities that exist as part [Read More]

By JULIE APPLEBY
In a speech on Nov. 2, 2020, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden promised, “I’ll not only restore Obamacare; I’ll build on it.”

Two years and counting since then, how is he doing in meeting that promise?

KHN has teamed up with our partners at PolitiFact to monitor 100 key promises — including this one — made by Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign. The pledges touch on issues related to improving the economy, responding to calls for racial justice, and combating climate change. On health care, they range from getting covid-19 under control and improving veterans’ health care to codifying Roe v. Wade. KHN has recently done progress checks on the administration’s pledges to lower the costs of prescription [Read More]

By HANNAH NORMAN
The same devices used to take selfies and type out tweets are being repurposed and commercialized for quick access to information needed for monitoring a patient’s health. A fingertip pressed against a phone’s camera lens can measure a heart rate. The microphone, kept by the bedside, can screen for sleep apnea. Even the speaker is being tapped, to monitor breathing using sonar technology.

In the best of this new world, the data is conveyed remotely to a medical professional for the convenience and comfort of the patient or, in some cases, to support a clinician without the need for costly hardware.

But using smartphones as diagnostic tools is a work [Read More]

By EWA MATUSZEWSKI
“Virtual behavioral health visits fail to meet the needs of patients.”

Wow. Pretty strong positioning statement, don’t you think? And yes, I wanted to catch your attention. Alarming media reports over the past month have noted that certain online mental health providers were quick to prescribe medication for mental health treatment – sometimes with tragic consequences – when talk therapy may have sufficed. But it’s not a one-sided story and I think the statement is worthy of close examination. Frankly, I both agree and disagree with it.

First, one must look at life prior to the inception of virtual visits. How many people who needed behavioral healthcare did not receive [Read More]

By ALLISON TUOHY
Merging with or acquiring healthcare entities can often be complex, with many competing considerations. As purchase price is contemplated, acquiring entities are not only evaluating the profits of the entity being acquired but also considering key employees and the value they provide post-closing. Key employees and service providers undoubtedly bring significant value to healthcare practices and companies through their industry-specific expertise and experience. An acquiring entity must conduct due diligence to assess what measures can or are being implemented to incentivize key employees to remain with the new entity post-closing. Incentives such as retention bonuses and stock options tend to work well when utilized alone, but can also [Read More]

OAG Repeats UIA Pandemic Performance In Penultimate Report

The second-to-last report ordered by the Legislature of the Unemployment Insurance Agency was released by the Office of Auditor General and rehashed issues that plagued the agency during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A 126-page OAG report flagged 14 issues and made two observations that are a return to the previous excoriating audits of the UIA that have been released since 2021. The Legislature ordered five audits before the resignation of former UIA Director Steve Gray in 2020 over issues of mismanagement, fraud, and waste during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

“What we are seeing with this report is a rehash of issues that have been addressed, addressed and addressed again, and not only [Read More]

By ROLF LOWE
Effective February 4, 2023, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) will allow Medicaid reimbursement for behavioral health services provided by recent graduates of board-approved master’s or doctoral level psychology, social work, counseling or marriage and family therapy educational training program who have completed all the requirements for a limited or temporary license as specified in the respective licensing rules for each discipline, but have not yet obtained a license from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). The change in coverage was announced by MDHHS on January 5, 2023, in Michigan Medicaid Policy (MMP) Bulletin 23-02.

While the MMP Bulletin expands the behavioral health [Read More]

By MICHAEL McAULIFF
In what has become an almost yearly ritual, physician groups are arguing that patients will have greater difficulty finding doctors who accept Medicare if lawmakers allow pay cuts to happen.

A more than 4,000-page draft government spending bill released by lawmakers in mid December proposed much smaller-than-planned cuts to Medicare payments. But the bill, which Congress hoped to pass to keep the government funded and avert a shutdown, would not go as far as doctors wanted.

“Despite overwhelming bipartisan, bicameral support to stop the full Medicare physician payment cut, Congress failed once again to end the cycle of harmful Medicare cuts, showing a disregard for vulnerable seniors,” the Surgical Care [Read More]

An estimated 3.5 million Michiganders are expected to travel more than 50 miles between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2, just as the numbers of flu cases and COVID-19 cases have started to rise in the state.

The flu season and COVID-19 numbers are tracking upward in the state, according to data from the  Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) The weekly reported COVID-19 cases were at 13,043 on recently with 181 deaths for the week.  During a recent seven-day period the rate of flu cases went from low to moderate in the state.

The rate of spread for COVID-19 is between low and moderate [Read More]

By EWA MATUSZEWSKI
Over the course of the last three months, I’ve moved from internships to mentoring to negotiations. It’s as if I’m ascending the career ladder in these columns! Truthfully, the art of successful leadership is due in part to the ability to negotiate. I bring up the topic because a colleague recently commented on the many new arrangements (and yes, risks) our organization has taken on throughout 2022; and where there are business deals, there are negotiations. That led to a conversation on multiple communication tangents, including stakeholders, motives, preparation, questions, goals, agenda, flexibility and communication.

Part of my leadership approach is believing that just because someone told me “no” [Read More]