The MHA announced two winners of its Special Recognition Award during the Annual Membership Meeting June 27, recognizing them for extensive contributions to healthcare. Each of the winners has uniquely influenced healthcare in Michigan. The winners include Sen. Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) and Rep. Angela Witwer (D-Delta Township).
The lawmakers each chair their chamber’s appropriations committee, with Anthony the first Black woman to ever chair the Senate Appropriations Committee. These committees are responsible for determining the annual state budget, covering important healthcare areas including Medicaid, the Healthy Michigan Plan, graduate medical education, the rural access pool and obstetrical stabilization fund, and critical access hospital reimbursement rates. Both lawmakers were strong supporters of Public Act 5 of 2023, sponsored by Witwer, which provided $75 million for hospital workforce recruitment, retention and training in the fiscal year 2023 state budget. In addition, they each fought to include enhanced funding for ongoing Level I and Level II trauma centers, inpatient psychiatric payment rates and maternal health in the fiscal year 2024 budget. Both Anthony and Witwer are strong supporters of funding Medicaid appropriately to ensure adequate reimbursement rates for providers and protect access to healthcare services.
In addition to her committee role, Anthony prioritizes expanding access to healthcare. She sponsored Michigan’s first mental health parity law, signed into law May 21 by Gov. Whitmer. Public Act 41 of 2024 requires insurance coverage for mental health and substance use disorder treatments at the same level as physical health services. This new law eliminates existing disparities and ensure equal access to necessary care for all Michiganders. Anthony also co-sponsored key legislation last session to support the healthcare talent pipeline signed into law by Gov. Whitmer Dec. 22, 2022. Public Acts 251 and 252 of 2022 expanded the Michigan Reconnect program, allowing for several additional certifications to qualify for the post-secondary scholarship program including high-demand healthcare credentials. Other healthcare legislation Anthony sponsors includes Senate Bill 531, which is part of a package of bills supported by the MHA that would improve Michigan’s amended auto no-fault laws. The package would simplify and increase Medicare hospital reimbursements, clarify the definition of Medicare and create a new post-acute care provider fee schedule. The bills passed the Senate in a bipartisan vote and await consideration by the House.
Witwer’s role as a healthcare champion is inspired by more than the 22 years she spent working in healthcare to begin her career. She first started as a clinician, working in University of Michigan Health – Sparrow Lansing’s burn unit and later as the manager of pediatric rehabilitation. She later became manager of the hospital’s community relations and marketing department, before leaving the organization to co-found her own public relations, marketing and advocacy firm. These life experiences inspired Witwer’s support for Public Acts 271 and 272 of 2023, which increase the penalties for assaulting a healthcare worker or volunteer by doubling the financial fines for those found guilty of such a crime.