The 2026 Michigan State of Reform Health Policy Conference convened May 5 in East Lansing, MI, to discuss the most pressing challenges across the healthcare continuum.
Lauren LaPine-Ray, DrPH, MPH, vice president, policy & rural health, MHA and executive director, MHA Center of Rural Excellence, joined a panel to discuss how providers across the state will use Rural Health Transformation Project (RHTP) dollars to improve healthcare in rural communities.
LaPine-Ray addressed the unique challenges rural hospitals are facing in the wake of significant federal cuts to Medicaid funding, which disproportionately impacts Michigan’s rural providers that serve a large portion of the state’s Medicaid recipients. Throughout the presentation, she detailed how rural hospitals will use RHTP funding to invest in innovative technologies and recruit and retain staff to keep care local.
Laura Appel, executive vice president, government relations & public policy, MHA, joined a panel discussion on the impacts of the 2025 Budget Reconciliation Act on Michigan’s healthcare provider landscape.
Panelists emphasized the operational and financial pressures the new policies will create for hospitals, clinics and community health centers. Appel outlined hospitals’ concerns about the impending Medicaid work requirements. She highlighted that when qualified individuals go without coverage due to overly complex paperwork, they tend to delay seeking care until a problem has worsened unnecessarily and hospitals end up managing more uncompensated care. She added that when more people go uninsured, healthcare costs rise, affecting affordability for everyone.
Members with questions regarding current legislative activity may contact Laura Appel at the MHA.