Updates About Health Policy

In 2024, two bills passed by the Michigan Legislature requiring schools to adopt cardiac emergency response plans were signed into law (Publict Acts 36 and 37). However, the bills were contingent on the Legislature appropriating sufficient funding to implement the response plans. As of now, the current $321 million school safety budget lacks dedicated funding for the cardiac response plans. A Senate proposal to allocate $25 million for safety measures, including AED devices, was also not included in the final FY 25-26 budget.

In the absence of a sufficient appropriation, the law cannot be enforced and school districts cannot be not required to comply. With approximately 5,000 public and nonpublic schools statewide, adoption varies based on local capacity and resources. Currently, just under 1,000 schools hold the state’s MI HEARTSafe designation, a title earned by schools with cardiac response plans, annual cardiac emergency drills, and enough employees trained to respond to a cardiac emergency.

Governor Whitmer’s $88 billion budget proposed in her recent executive recommendations for the upcoming fiscal year also omitted specified funding for cardiac emergency response plans.

Three bills, SB 449, SB 450, and SB 451, that aim to ease the burden of medical debt were recently brought before the Senate Health Policy Committee. The bipartisan package spearheaded by Sen. Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) and Sen. Jonathan Lindsey (R-Coldwater) with assistance from the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, would require that hospitals implement a financial assistance program for medical bills that align with the patient’s income and insurance. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services would create the collection process and determine patient eligibility. The bills would also ban reporting agencies from creating consumer reports with patients’ medical debt information, which could hurt their credit score as well as loan eligibility.

The package is expected to be voted on at the next committee hearing.

Recently, the House Health Policy Committee unanimously voted out two bills aimed at improving how patient information is shared across Michigan’s health care system. HB 4037 and HB 4038 aim to create a centralized Health Data Utility and designate a portion of the Medicaid budget for operating costs. This new system would allow patient data to securely follow individuals through their entire health journey, from the ambulance to the hospital, to the doctor’s office or a rehabilitation facility. The bills also allow access to schools and foster care, decreasing the chances that pertinent medical information is omitted at every step in the patient care process. Patients would also have the autonomy to opt in or out with any Michigan providers.

The approved non-profit Health Data Utility would be the Michigan Health Information Network (MiHIN), which already services secure health data in the billions. Sponsored by Rep. Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo) and Rep. Curt VanderWall (R-Ludington), the legislation now heads to the House floor with broad bipartisan support. While a similar proposal passed the House last session, the Senate was apprehensive about altering patient privacy protections and data security.