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MHA Monday Report July 14, 2025

July 14, 2025July 14, 2025 Member News, Monday Report

Medical Debt Legislation Introduced, Maternal and Behavioral Health Bills Clear Senate

Legislation addressing medical debt was introduced in the Michigan State Senate June 26. The bipartisan three-bill package, Senate Bills 449, 450 and 451, codify the existence of hospital financial assistance programs, create new …

MHA Service Corporation Highlights Security Technology Solutions and Action Plan Priorities

The MHA Service Corporation board held its final meeting of the 2024-2025 program year focused on supporting the MHA Strategic Action Plan priorities of protecting access, workforce support, strengthening cybercrime and cybersecurity policy, mental …

CMS Releases Home Health PPS Proposed Rule

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a proposed rule updating the home health prospective payment system (PPS) for calendar year 2026. Highlights of the proposed rule include: A 6% …

Deadline Approaching to Qualify for MDHHS Maternal Health Quality Payments

Birthing hospitals pursuing the 2025 Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Maternal Health Quality Payments must meet all requirements by July 31 to receive payments. Eligibility requirements include full participation in the Michigan …

Free Substance Use Disorder Technical Assistance Available

The Michigan Opioid Partnership is offering free, tailored technical assistance to help Michigan hospitals and healthcare providers improve care for patients with substance use disorders, whether they are implementing new protocols or strengthening existing …

Virtual Maternal Health Quality Improvement Courses Available

The Michigan Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (MI AIM) is offering virtual modules to support maternal health quality improvement efforts. All obstetric team members at MI AIM participating birthing hospitals are encouraged to complete …

MHA Shares State Impacts and Insights at Regional 340B Roundtable

MHA staff attended the Regional 340B Roundtable July 8 in Florence, IN to join colleagues from the Indiana Hospital Association, Ohio Hospital Association, Kentucky Hospital Association and endorsed business partner, SunRx, to share best practices for successful 340B administration and …

MHA Releases Executive Summary of Final LARA Rules for Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery

The MHA recently released an executive summary regarding administrative rules finalized by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), updating licensing and practice standards for osteopathic medicine and surgery in Michigan. The rules, …

MHA CEO Report — A Year of Progress and Purpose

With another program year behind us, the MHA Annual Meeting served as a powerful reminder of our shared mission to advance the health and well-being of Michigan’s patients and communities. Despite an evolving political landscape, we’ve made meaningful progress and are moving …

Keckley Report

Special Edition: Lessons from the ACA applicable to the Big Beautiful Bill

“One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) passed both houses of Congress by the thinnest of margins and was signed into law by President Trump last Thursday. It is the most significant legislation for U.S. healthcare since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) signed into law by President Obama March 23, 2010. …

It’s too soon to know what the results will be for OBBBA. Many fear it will cause irreparable damage to the safety net—public health programs, rural and safety net hospitals, nursing homes and others that serve lower-income and disabled populations. Some see it as a necessary reset asserting waste, fraud and abuse in healthcare has been allowed to fester, harming those in bona-fide need and keeping resources in healthcare better used elsewhere.

What’s known for sure is that opinions about the OBBBA will change as it’s implemented over the next four years. How states address work requirements and implementation will be central to its success. And executive orders, administrative actions, court decisions and market conditions will alter its trajectory—especially economic conditions at home.”

Paul Keckley, July 6, 2025

News to Know

MHA Endorsed Business Partner CorroHealth, is hosting the webinar Price Transparency in 2025: What’s Required, What’s Coming, What to do Now, for MHA members from 2 to 3 p.m. ET July 16.

MHA in the News

The MHA received media coverage during the weeks of June 30 and July 7 on Medicaid cuts included in the federal budget reconciliation bill. MHA CEO Brian Peters and MHA Executive Vice President Laura Appel …

MHA Shares State Impacts and Insights at Regional 340B Roundtable

July 11, 2025July 17, 2025 Uncategorized

**Ted Slafsky, 340B Report; Laura Brown, Indiana Hospital Association; Elizabeth Kutter, MHA and John Bretz, SUNRx pictured during the Regional 340B Roundtable.**

MHA staff attended the Regional 340B Roundtable July 8 in Florence, IN to join colleagues from the Indiana Hospital Association, Ohio Hospital Association, Kentucky Hospital Association and endorsed business partner, SunRx to share best practices for successful 340B administration and advocacy. Nearly 150 340B experts gathered from the four states to discuss the impact the program has on their communities, compliance best practices and opportunities to advocate for 340B at the state and federal levels.

Hospital 340B leaders were able to network, share challenges and discuss opportunities. Compliance experts from PYA also offered technical advice and solutions in navigating complex 340B relationships.

Elizabeth Kutter, senior director of government and political affairs at the MHA, joined Ted Slafsky, 340B Report, and Laura Brown, Indiana Hospital Association, for a panel discussion on state 340B legislative and regulatory updates. “Having 340B experts and healthcare leaders tell the story of how important this program is for each community, especially rural and underserved communities, makes a significant difference for protecting the 340B program overall,” said Kutter. “The program is designed to improve access to healthcare for patients, which is why 340B must be safeguarded through legislative efforts.” Protecting 340B remains a priority for the MHA and its covered entity members.

Members with questions about 340B should reach out to Elizabeth Kutter at the MHA. Members interested in learning more about endorsed business partner, SunRx and its offerings, may contact Rob Wood at the MHA.

MHA CEO Brian Peters Joins 2025 State of Reform Health Policy Panel

April 18, 2025April 21, 2025 Member News

MHA CEO Brian Peters pictured with Farah Hanley, managing principal, Health Management Associates and Dominick Pallone, executive director, Michigan Association of Health Plans (MAHP) during the 2025 Michigan State of Reform Conference April 17.

The 2025 Michigan State of Reform Health Policy Conference convened April 17 in East Lansing, MI. The morning session began with a panel moderated by Farah Hanley, managing principal, Health Management Associates, alongside MHA CEO Brian Peters and Dominick Pallone, executive director, Michigan Association of Health Plans (MAHP). Discussion focused on the evolving federal landscape and its impact on healthcare and health policy in Michigan.

Panelists explored the impact of recent federal activity and what it means for Michigan communities, hospitals and the healthcare workforce. Throughout the discussion, Medicaid, the 340B program and tariffs were highlighted. Peters emphasized that the current threats to Medicaid go beyond those enrolled in the program, warning that cuts will have a ripple effect across the entire healthcare system.

“This isn’t just about Medicaid recipients,” said Peters. “It’s about every Michigander’s access to care.”

The MHA continues to work with members of Congress to underscore that slashing Medicaid funding puts hospitals, providers and patient care at risk across the state.

Peters and Pallone also discussed partnership between the MHA and MAHP in response to recent proposals and the role tariffs play in healthcare. Peters noted the impact tariffs have on the healthcare supply chain and limitations when it comes to responding to financial shifts in real time, which puts a significant strain on providers trying to maintain care quality amid mounting costs.

Members with questions regarding current legislative activity may contact Laura Appel at the MHA.

MHA CEO Report — Prioritizing Rural Health

April 1, 2025 MHA Rounds, Issues in Healthcare, Top Issues - Healthcare

“Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” – Abraham Lincoln

While snow continues to fall in northern Michigan, spring is officially here, and for many, that means our weekend travel plans shift from skiing and snowmobiling to camping, hiking and boating. Rural Michigan is an amazing travel destination for many, but it also is home year-round to 20% of our state’s population, and access to affordable, high-quality healthcare remains absolutely crucial. Rural hospitals are an integral part of the local fabric of their communities, treating the ill and improving the health and well-being of their residents. They work extremely hard to make sure they’re able to provide the best quality of care, while operating on a budget with slim to nonexistent margins. In a small town, there is nowhere to hide when the hospital is experiencing challenges of any kind. This is especially true when the hospital is the largest employer in the community and a vital economic engine, which is very often the case in rural Michigan.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the annual American Hospital Association (AHA) Rural Health Care Leadership Conference, along with a number of MHA senior staff and Michigan rural healthcare leaders, including Tina Freese Decker, CEO of Corewell Health and current chair of the AHA Board of Trustees; Julie Yaroch, DO, CEO of ProMedica Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital and current chair of the MHA Board of Trustees; and JJ Hodshire, CEO of Hillsdale Hospital, current MHA Board member and host of the Rural Health Today podcast. We focused on the latest rural health challenges and innovations, as well as our shared federal advocacy priorities. Key topics included rural obstetrical care, cybersecurity, long-term care transformation and strategic partnerships.

According to the latest U.S. census and other demographic resources, rural Americans are notably older, sicker and poorer than their urban and suburban counterparts. While rural areas currently cover 97% of the nation’s land, they are home to only 19.3% of the total population. Demographers believe that we are moving toward a future state in which an even higher concentration of the population will be in non-rural settings – and that in the next five years, more than 40% of Michigan counties will have more than a quarter of their population older than 65, with nearly all of those counties being rural. As we have learned – especially during the COVID pandemic – traditional volume-based healthcare reimbursement methods do not adequately address the fixed costs inherent in healthcare delivery, a reality that is exacerbated for rural hospitals with smaller patient volumes and more constricted resources and economies of scale.

Although Medicaid expansion (a major accomplishment resulting from MHA advocacy) improved the viability of rural hospitals – a fact that is borne out when benchmarking Michigan to non-expansion states – that funding is currently in severe jeopardy given the current state of play in Washington, D.C., as discussed at length in last month’s CEO Report. In addition, the 340B program is another critically important part of the rural healthcare ecosystem, as the cost savings from the program are used by healthcare providers to offer critically important services to everyone in their respective communities, regardless of their socioeconomic status. The MHA continues to advocate at the state and federal level, in the legislative arena and in the courts, to protect and defend the 340B program.

With guidance from the MHA Council on Small or Rural Hospitals, currently chaired by Peter Marinoff, CEO of Munson Healthcare Southern Region (see Peter’s recent insights on rural healthcare), and staffed by Lauren LaPine, MHA senior director of Legislative and Public Policy, the MHA is also advocating for continuation of the rural access pool and obstetrical stabilization fund in the state budget, and promoting good public policy with respect to critical access hospitals, rural emergency hospitals and a host of other key issues.

Our rural healthcare leaders continue to prove they are exceptional at delivering extraordinary value, despite challenging circumstances. I know from first-hand experience that our rural hospitals provide high quality care and deserve to be fully supported. And we absolutely must support them, as the fragility of the current environment is real: there have been some 151 rural hospitals that have closed across the country since 2010 due to financial variables that make it extremely difficult to maintain hospital facilities in rural areas.

Now more than ever, we need to think about our rural hospitals, stand firm and do all we can to protect these vital institutions.

As always, I welcome your thoughts.

MHA Monday Report March 17, 2025

March 17, 2025March 13, 2025 Monday Report, Member News

Legislative Policy Panel Acts on Opioid Treatment Policies

The MHA Legislative Policy Panel met virtually March 12 to develop recommendations on legislative and policy issues impacting Michigan hospitals. The MHA advocacy team provided important updates to the panel on healthcare activities at both …

MHA Member Supply Chain Leaders Share Insights and Resources

MHA staff recently attended the Navigating Supply Chain Challenges in the Current Healthcare Environment event hosted March 4 by the Great Lakes Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives. This participation represents the MHA’s …

MHA Upcoming PFE Webinars Focus on Advancing Patient-Centered Care

The MHA, in conjunction with its statewide Person & Family Engagement (PFE) Advisory Council, is excited to offer the PFE Improvement Sprints, a webinar series designed to help hospitals and health systems amplify PFE efforts. …

Applications Open for 2025-2026 Excellence in Governance Fellowship

Applications for the 2025-2026 Excellence in Governance Fellowship are now open for healthcare board members seeking innovative and effective ways to lead their organizations as hospitals and health systems navigate financial strain and labor challenges. …

Balancing the Complexities of the Healthcare Workforce in Rural Markets

MHA Endorsed Business Partner AMN Healthcare will host the webinar Balancing the Complexities of the Healthcare Workforce in Rural Markets from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET April 10. Speakers John Higgins, vice president of Essentia Health, a …