Hospitals & Politics | Michigan FY 2023 Budget

​Political News by McLaren’s Government Relations Team

Hello! We are heading into a new fiscal year starting in October for state government. The budget was officially signed in July, which provided both the legislature and the Governor with ample amount of time during the summer to leave Lansing and hit the doors for what is turning out to be a unique campaign cycle. 

INSIDE
Michigan FY 2023 Budget
Overview
Unrelated Budget Items
Industry Specific Overview
A few of the successes within the FY 2023 budget that directly impact all hospitals.
McLaren Specific
McLaren specific wins within the FY 2023 budget
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Setting aside a surplus of money allowed the legislature to come to an agreement with the Governor without a tax policy plan in place on July 1. The Governor signed the budget on July 20th. The budget is $54.8B Gross with $13.6B being GF/GP. Further, there was an additional $2.2B supplemental, which appropriated approximately $1.2B in remaining CARES, CRRSAA, or ARPA funds. Overall, the budget focused on behavioral health care, saving for and spending down debt, and providing numerous amounts of money for one-time infrastructure changes. Currently, there is approximately $7M left in ARPA funds and a remaining $7B for GF/GP. That is a lot of money left to disperse in the next few years. 

As the year goes on, some articles will be specifically focused on one piece of policy or one concept of political hospital news. If you would like to see anything specific in these newsletters, please do not hesitate to reach out to Allisyn Mattice-Eskau. ​

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Overview

​The DHHS budget encompassed approximately $33.4 billion, $6.1billion GF/GP. The theme of the budget revolved around behavioral health and support parenting centers and pregnant women. The support provided for pregnant women was part of a Republican Caucus objective against abortion. Due to that reasoning, the Governor vetoed over $20 million of that support, including $10M to provide educational materials on adoption, $4M for grants for housing to pregnant women, $3M to develop a maternal navigator pilot program, and $1.5M for pregnancy resource centers. 
Over $6 billion went towards transportation projects (hello orange cones) and per student funding increased by $450 per student. The budget also included funding to rebuild Mound Road, the MI Reconnect program to encourage 60% of Michiganders to have a college degree by 2030, and other economic incentives.

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Industry Successes

Overall, the hospital and health plan industry will be impacted by certain numerous investments that are worth noting. Work still must be done but the legislature devoted a great deal in behavioral health care and our hospital workforce. Below are just some of the highlights:

• $350M investment to create a new State Psychiatric Hospital, which will replace the current child’s psychiatric hospital, Hawthorne Center, and the adult Walter P. Reuther Psychiatric Hospital;
• Includes $1M for the Honor Health CME program;
• Provides $28.3M (10M GF/GP) for community health workers to be reimbursed through Medicaid;
• Increases neonatology Medicaid rates by 5%;
• Increases adult fee for service dental reimbursements;
• Invests in repayments for medical education loans for behavioral health providers with $10M in one-time funding;
• $10M for the Jail Diversion Fund, which is a behavioral health community crisis response program to reroute certain individuals connected with a crime to a more appropriate program other than incarceration;
• $1.4M to continue to stockpile medical supplies as a result of the Pandemic;
• Increases foster family maintenance payment rates by 15%;
• Provides $3M to continue the Michigan Crisis and Access Line, which is a call center that connects individuals with behavioral health services, including but not limited to open bed slots;
• Expands nursing education opportunities by creating a collaboration with community colleges and universities through a $56M innovated plan;
• $50M for pediatric psychiatric infrastructure grants, which McLaren will be able to apply for;
• $30M for crisis stabilization units throughout the state;
• $3.5M to establish a statewide trauma system; and
• $16.8M to increase behavioral health homes from 37 to 42. 

Overall, the legislature made strides in behavioral health care, workforce initiatives, and specific infrastructure projects throughout the state of Michigan. Whether a supplemental will occur before the election is anyone’s guess but with $7B available, we are sure to keep up the momentum for our hospitals in Michigan.

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McLaren Specific Support 

McLaren received tremendous support from the legislature with our asks. The success comes in part from McLaren’s willingness to assist with behavioral health care and its NCI-designated partnership with Karmanos and Wayne State. Below are the highlights:

• $100 million to Wayne State to develop Karmanos Cancer Center on its campus, which will have a statewide impact on cancer research and cancer care;
• $8 million for McLaren Northern to add an EmPATH unit and additional psychiatric beds;
• $5 million for McLaren Northern to create an adolescent partial hospitalization program with additional psychiatric beds;
• $5 million to the Clinton, Eaton, & Ingham Community Mental Health Association to set up a crisis stabilization unit on the McLaren Greenlawn Behavioral Health Campus; and
• $102,600 for McLaren Central to expand its sexual assault nurse examiners program.
• There were other hospitals that received funding for as well. Some of these includes $10M to Mackinac Straits, $5M to My Michigan Hospital, $11M to UofM, $11M to Sturgis Hospital, $6.6M to Sherian Hospital improvement grant, and $3.4M to Muskegon/Mercy Health FQHC. 

As a result of COVID and the massive strains on the hospital industry, we appreciate all the work these systems have done as well. We appreciate the support from the legislature for not just McLaren, but our industry as a whole.