Updates About Press Releases

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced that they will be hosting the Medicaid Health Plan Common Formulary over Zoom on Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the list of prescription drugs covered under Michigan Medicaid health plans.

During the meeting, the public community partners, and other interested parties will have an opportunity to provide comments on the prescription drug list. The common formulary was created in 2016 to streamline prescription drug coverage policies and ensure consistent coverage across contracted Medicaid health plans.

To view the full press release and how to RSVP for the Zoom call, click here.

This year’s state Christmas tree has been selected! The Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (DTMB) announced that the winner is a 60-foot spruce tree from Iron Mountain in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, donated by Larry Riccio and his family.

The tree will be harvested on November 5th and arrive in downtown Lansing on November 7th. Once placed in front of the Capitol, local Boy Scout troops will continue their tradition of untying the tree. The City of Lansing’s forestry team will then prepare the tree for the decorations and lights developed by the Lansing Board of Water and Light and the Michigan Capitol Commission.

After the preparations are made, the tree lighting ceremony will take place at the 42nd annual Silver Bells in the City ceremony on November 20th, where the thousands of decorative lights will be switched on at approximately 7:30 PM.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently joined a coalition of 24 attorneys general and two governors in filing a lawsuit that challenges the Trump administration’s implementation of the new Medicaid work requirements under H.R.1 (also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act or OBBBA).

The lawsuit targets an interim final rule issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The coalition argues the new interpretation of the rule would unlawfully narrow expectations for individuals who are considered “medically frail.” The coalition also claims that the interpretation, on top of new administrative burdens, will make it difficult for eligible Medicaid recipients to qualify for exemptions and would cause many to lose coverage.

They also allege that the rule fails to adequately consider the impact on states and the healthcare sector while imposing new compliance requirements after states had already begun implementing H.R. 1. The coalition is seeking to block enforcement of the challenged provisions before the work requirements take effect on January 1, 2027.