Updates About Executive Office Announcements

On May 2, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that Michigan’s Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies initiative, in part to expand Medicaid postpartum coverage to a full 12 months, was approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Under current federal requirements, Medicaid enrollees receive coverage for 60 days postpartum. Expanding coverage to a full year is intended to allow pregnant people, and their newborns, to have access to necessary health services, such as behavioral, dental, and substance use services. The extension also promotes the completion of postpartum depression screening.

In 2018, Michigan’s Maternal Mortality Surveillance (MMMS) Committee found that almost 50% of maternal deaths in the state were preventable and there was a persistent racial disparity among these deaths.

In Michigan, this expansion is expected to benefit approximately 35,000 pregnant and postpartum people annually.

150 awards were given to 57 school districts, 14 intermediate school districts, 40 nonpublic schools, and 39 public school academies to improve school safety and security according to a release from the Michigan Executive Office of the Governor.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that $10 million in state funding through the Competitive School Safety Grant Program (CSSGP) would fund the purchase of equipment and/or technology to improve school buildings, students, and staff’s safety and security. 336 eligible applications were received with requests totaling $35 million and recipients were chosen from a committee of law enforcement, education, and school security personnel.

Grant recipients have until July 1, 2023, to spend their awards. View the full list of grant recipients.

On Monday, May 16, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that over one million Michigan residents have enrolled in the state’s Healthy Michigan Plan (HMP). The HMP is the state’s Medicaid expansion plan authorized under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and is available to Michiganders ages 19-64 who have an income at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty line.

According to data released by the University of Michigan, the Healthy Michigan Plan has doubled primary care usage, reduced enrollees’ reliance on the emergency room by 58 percent, and cut uncompensated care by nearly 50 percent.