Tag: Jack Bergman

MHA Monday Report Nov. 17, 2025

Member News, Monday Report

Notable Healthcare Legislation Clears House, Senate Committees

Legislation on physician assistant licensure compact agreements, international medical school graduates, hospital price transparency measures and medical debt collection advanced in the Michigan House and Senate during the week of Nov. 10. In the House …

CMS Releases CY 2026 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a final rule to update the physician fee schedule for calendar year (CY) 2026. Highlights of the final rule include: Implementing the one-time 2.5% …

Congressmen Bergman Supports Save America’s Rural Hospitals Act

U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) recently co-sponsored H.R. 3684, the Save America’s Rural Hospitals Act of 2025, which would strengthen financial stability and access to care for rural hospitals and healthcare providers across the country. …

MHA Board of Trustees Shares Learnings from Ice Storm and Reviews Strategic Action Plan

The MHA Board of Trustees’ Nov. 12 meeting featured presentations from board members Ed Ness, president and CEO, Munson Healthcare; Lydia Watson, president and CEO, MyMichigan Health; and Karen Cheeseman, president and CEO, Mackinac Straits …

New MHA Infographic Showcases Rural Michigan Healthcare Impact

The MHA recently released the infographic Healthcare Impact in Rural Michigan, which highlights how critical access hospitals, sole community hospitals, rural emergency hospitals and birthing hospitals support communities across the state. The infographic highlights the …

New Endorsed Business Partner SmarterDx Provides Clinical AI to Support Financial Outcomes and Quality Scores

The MHA’s Endorsed Business Partner program promotes industry-leading firms. The EBP program connects member hospitals to solutions that alleviate pain points. The MHA recently endorsed SmarterDx, a national leader in revenue integrity solutions, offering advanced clinical …

Webinar Kicks Off MHA Health Access & Community Impact Office Hours

The MHA will host an informational webinar from noon to 12:45 p.m. Nov. 24 featuring 211, in the first session of the Health Access & Community Impact Office Hours series. The series is designed to …

Celebrating the Power — and Promise — of Rural Healthcare

As a healthcare leader, physician and someone born and raised in the Thumb of Michigan, National Rural Health Day is very personal to me, my colleagues and the communities we serve every day at Scheurer Health. …

Keckley Report

Why Healthcare Affordability is Increasingly Problematic to Working Age Populations

In what political pundits called a sweeping win by Democrats in Tuesday’s elections, affordability and costs of living emerged as the issues that mattered most to voters. It’s no surprise.

Since 2019 before the pandemic, prices have increased for American businesses and households due to inflation:

Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation which measures monthly business spending increased 3.5% annually. The Consumer Price Index, which measures monthly changes in household spending increased 3.87% annually over the same period (2019-2025).

But in the same period, prices for healthcare services–hospitals, physician services, insurance premiums and long-term care–have taken an odd turn: for businesses, they’ve decreased but for consumers, they increased. It reflects the success whereby businesses have shifted health benefits costs to employees or suspended benefits altogether, and it explains why consumers are bearing more direct responsibility for healthcare costs and are increasingly price sensitive. …

Healthcare service providers can ill afford to neglect affordability. It more than measuring medical debt, posting prices and referencing concern on websites. It’s about earning the trust and confidence of future generations through concrete actions that increase household financial security beginning with healthcare spending. …”

Paul Keckley, Nov. 9, 2025

New to KnowNews to Know

MHA members are encouraged to register for the webinar How Leading Health Systems Are Rebuilding Talent Pipelines — and Keeping Them Full Through Early Student Loan Support, led by Clasp, scheduled from 9 to 9:30 a.m. Dec. 2.

MHA in the News

9&10 News aired a story Nov. 11 about how health insurance rate increases will lead to lower health insurance enrollment, harming healthcare access. MHA CEO Brian Peters is quoted in the story expressing the need …

Congressmen Bergman Supports Save America’s Rural Hospitals Act

Member News

U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) recently co-sponsored H.R. 3684, the Save America’s Rural Hospitals Act of 2025, which would strengthen financial stability and access to care for rural hospitals and healthcare providers across the country.

Introduced by Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) and Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), the bill would amend Titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide enhanced Medicare and Medicaid payments to rural hospitals, critical access hospitals and other essential rural providers. The legislation addresses the ongoing challenges facing rural health systems, noting that more than 60 million Americans rely on rural hospitals for care and that more than 150 rural hospitals have closed nationwide since 2010.

The Save America’s Rural Hospitals Act outlines congressional findings underscoring the critical role rural hospitals play as access points for emergency and inpatient care, as well as the increasing risks of closure due to financial strain, workforce shortages and geographic barriers. The bill aims to improve reimbursement structures and sustain vital services for patients who otherwise face long distances and limited access to emergency care.

The MHA supports this legislation and will continue to review its potential implications for Michigan’s rural hospitals, providing updates as the bill advances through Congress.

Members with questions may contact Lauren LaPine-Ray at the MHA.

 

MHA Monday Report Nov. 10, 2025

Member News, Monday Report

Congressman Bergman Co-Sponsors Critical Access Hospital Relief Act

U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) recently co-sponsored HR. 538, the Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2025, which would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement for inpatient services at critical access hospitals. The bill, introduced in January 2025, would amend …

State and Medical Partners Urge Michiganders to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine

To help ensure access to the COVID-19 vaccine for all residents, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and Department of Insurance and Financial Services …

MMMS and FIMR Aligned Recommendations to Improve Maternal and Infant Health

The Michigan Maternal Mortality Surveillance (MMMS) and Fetal Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) programs recently released aligned recommendations at improving outcomes across the maternal and infant health continuum. MMMS reviews cases of maternal deaths that occur …

Honoring Veterans Through Improved Access & Care Coordination

When observing Veterans Day, it’s important to recognize how healthcare organizations can meaningfully work together to improve health outcomes and address the unique needs of service members and their families. …

Key Findings from the Michigan Interpreter Needs Assessment Report

Understanding the critical role interpreters play in hospitals, the MHA Health Foundation recently contributed funding to support the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs in conducting a needs assessment of Michigan’s interpreter landscape. …

MHA Rounds graphic of Brian PetersMHA CEO Report — Streamlining Medicaid Work Requirements

As states work toward establishing Medicaid work requirements that are a core element of H.R. 1, it’s more important than ever that we reduce the administrative burden associated with verification for beneficiaries. …

Keckley Report

The Structural Flaws that Must be Fixed to Transform the U.S. Health System

“Such is the case for health insurance coverage for millions in the U.S. as the federal government shutdown enters Week 6. Democrats are holding out for continuation of Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance subsidies that enable 22 million to “buy” insurance cheaper, and Republicans are holding out for federal spending cuts reflected in the One Big Beautiful Act (July 2025) that included almost a trillion reduction in Medicaid appropriations thru 2036.

ACA subsidies at the heart of the shutdown successfully expanded coverage in tandem with Medicaid expansion but added to its costs and set in motion corporatization and consolidation in every sector of the health system. The pandemic exposed the structural divide between public health programs and local health systems, and insurance premium increases and prior authorization protocols precipitated hostility toward insurers and blame games between hospitals, insurers and drug companies for perpetual cost increases. …

Sixteen years later, healthcare is once again the eye of the economic storm. Insiders blame inconsistent regulatory enforcement and lack of adequate funding as root causes. Outsiders blame lack of cost controls. consolidation and disregard for affordability. Thus, while attention to subsidized insurance coverage and SNAP benefits might temporarily calm public waters, they’re not the solution. …

Healthcare’s the same. Outside forces seen or not will impact its future dramatically. Plans have to be made though Black Swans like the pandemic are inevitable.  But long-term planning built on plausible bets are necessary to every healthcare organization’s future.”

Paul Keckley, Nov. 2, 2025

New to KnowNews to Know

  • MHA offices will be closed and no formal meetings will be scheduled Nov. 11 in honor of Veterans Day.
  • The MHA will host a virtual member forum from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Nov. 7 to outline the MHA 2025-26 Strategic Action Plan approved by the MHA Board of Trustees.
  • Amy Brown, chief nursing officer, MHA, recently joined MHA Endorsed Business Partner (EBP) AMN Healthcare on the episode “Empowering Nurses Through Advocacy and Innovation” of the Elevate Care Podcast.
  • MHA EBP SunRx is continuing a webinar series about 340B Rebate Model Briefings on Nov. 13 and Nov. 20.

MHA in the News

Bridge published a story Nov. 5 sharing five reasons why health insurance rates are rising at increasing rates in the state, which included workforce challenges, expiring enhanced premium tax credits, inflation and drug prices. …

Congressman Bergman Co-Sponsors Critical Access Hospital Relief Act

Member News

U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) recently co-sponsored HR. 538, the Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2025, which would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement for inpatient services at critical access hospitals.

The bill, introduced in January 2025, would amend Title XVIII of the Social Security Act to eliminate the mandate that a physician certify that a Medicare patient may reasonably be expected to be discharged or transferred to a hospital within 96 hours after admission to the critical access hospital. The proposed change is intended to reduce administrative burden and increase operational flexibility for rural hospitals in managing patient care and staffing, particularly during transfer delays or capacity constraints.

The MHA supports this legislation and will continue to review its potential implications for Michigan’s critical access hospitals, providing updates as the bill advances through Congress.

Members with questions may contact Lauren LaPine-Ray at the MHA.

The Rural 340B Access Act of 2024 Introduced in the U.S. House

Member News

*This article was updated May 14 to accurately reflect current 340B eligibility requirements. 

The bipartisan Rural 340B Access Act of 2024 was introduced April 29 in the U.S. House of Representatives. Introduced by Reps. Jack Bergman (MI-01) and Debbie Dingell (MI-06), the legislation aims to enhance the Rural Emergency (REH) designation and ensure the continued operation of emergency department in rural areas through the expansion of 340B eligibility.

The Rural 340B Access Act addresses a previous oversight by Congress during the designation process, which excluded REHs from eligibility for the 340B drug discount program. This program is crucial for rural providers, including 20 hospitals in district 1 in Michigan.

The National Rural Health Association, the American Hospital Association and the MHA support this legislation.

Members with questions may contact Lauren LaPine at the MHA.

Headline Roundup: Radiology Shortages & Hospital Challenges

Member News, Issues in Healthcare, MHA In The News, Top Issues - Healthcare

The MHA received media coverage the week of April 28 that includes coverage on the national shortage of radiologists and radiology technicians, recently introduced bills at the federal level and rural hospital challenges. Below is a collection of headlines from around the state, which include quotes from MHA CEO Brian Peters.

Tuesday, April 30

Monday, April 29

Sunday, April 28

Members with any questions regarding media requests should contact John Karasinski at the MHA.