The MHA received media coverage the week of May 9 on the upcoming Public Health Code Rules requiring implicit bias training for all professions licensed or registered under the Public Health Code and the recently approved extension by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services of Michigan Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program coverage for 12 months after pregnancy.
Bridge published May 11 a story on the healthcare industry’s reaction to the June 1 implementation date of the implicit bias training requirement. MHA CEO Brian Peters is quoted in the article expressing the positive reaction from hospitals on the requirement and their commitment to eliminate health disparities.
“There’s been no push back,” said Peters. “Everyone realizes this is the right thing to do.”
State of Reform also published May 10 an article on the increase in coverage for postpartum mothers from 60 days after birth to a full year in Michigan. Laura Appel, executive vice president of government relations and public policy, MHA, spoke with State of Reform on the importance of this coverage extension towards addressing maternal mortality and racial disparities.
“It feels counterintuitive to why healthcare coverage for women would end 60 days after they gave birth,” said Appel. “You would in no way expect coverage to end so quickly.”
The MHA offers our deepest condolences to the family of Sen. Carl Levin as we mourn his passing and remember his endless commitment to Michigan. He was an advocate for all Michiganders during his four decades in office. His support for the passage of the Affordable Care Act, as well as for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, has left a legacy where hundreds of thousands of low-income Michiganders now have access to care. He will be warmly remembered.