Tag: Specialty Network Access Fee

Senate Approves Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Budget, Organ Donor Tax Credit Legislation Advances

Member News

Several healthcare-related measures, including the full Senate budget and legislation on tax credits for organ donation, saw action during the week of April 27. 

The Senate advanced its full budget proposal under Senate Bill (SB) 878, sponsored by Sen. Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing). The bill contains the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services budget from SB 857. Key highlights of the bill include: 

  • Full funding for Medicaid. 
  • Recognition of hospital provider taxes and the ability to access those funds without additional legislative action or administrative barriers. 
  • Specialty Network Access Fee funding. 
  • Support for rural and obstetrics stabilization pools. 
  • Funding for Maternal Levels of Care verification. 

Unlike the governor’s executive recommendation and the House proposal, the Senate plan does not include unspecified Medicaid savings. Instead, it identifies funding through caseload adjustment savings, Most Favored Nation drug pricing savings and other efficiencies. The bill has now been referred to the House Appropriations Committee for further review and comparison, with the proposed House budget and the governor’s executive recommendation. The MHA will continue working with lawmakers to ensure the final product maintains support for hospitals, providers and patients. 

Further, the House Finance Committee heard testimony on SB 301. Sponsored by Sen. Joe Bellino (R-Monroe), the MHA-supported legislation would provide a tax credit to employers whose employees take time off to serve as living organ donors. The bill awaits a vote from the committee before moving to the full House chamber. 

The House Rules Committee considered and passed HB 5281, sponsored by Rep. Mike Harris (R-Waterford), which would put guardrails around third-party funded litigation. Currently, private equity and other investors can secretively fund litigation against hospitals and other entities. This legislation would place limitations on those investments and increase transparency in the process. The MHA-supported bill now goes to the full House for consideration. 

The House Health Policy Committee discussed HB 5709, sponsored by Rep. John Roth (R-Interlochen), which would remove certain imaging services from the Certificate of Need (CON) program. The MHA submitted a letter of opposition to the bill, which would erode Michigan’s strong CON program. The committee did not take a vote on the legislation. 

House Budget Endangers 20,000 Hospital Jobs and $4.9 Billion Economic Loss

News Releases, Issues in Healthcare, Top Issues - Healthcare

An estimated 20,000 hospital jobs could be lost in Michigan and lead to a $4.9 billion loss to the state’s economy if the House version of the state budget ultimately is signed into law, according to new estimates from the Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA).

The estimates consider the more than $2.5 billion in potential hospital funding cuts included in House Bill 4706. The impact on jobs would be particularly profound, as on average, 60% of a hospital’s budget is due to labor. Such a cut could have an additional estimated induced and indirect economic loss of $2.4 billion on the economy. More than one million jobs are directly, indirectly or induced by healthcare in the state.

“Healthcare is the largest private-sector employer in the state, with hospitals employing the most direct jobs within the sector with approximately 222,000 employees,” said MHA CEO Brian Peters. “Our calculations show the House version of the state budget could ultimately lead to a 9% reduction in the direct hospital workforce. Hospitals are one of the largest employers in each of their communities, meaning job losses to this magnitude would be felt in every corner of Michigan.”

Provisions of the budget bill that would lead to losses include:

  • New language that places $2.5 billion of hospital provider-tax funded payments in contingency line, requiring unnecessary administrative and legislative actions that could jeopardize timely hospital payments.
  • Elimination of at least $100 million of funding from the Specialty Network Access Fee (SNAF), which provides reimbursement to physicians caring for patients with Medicaid coverage.
  • Elimination of $10 million to support the Maternal Levels of Care verification and MI-AIM safety program for birthing hospitals.

Hospitals depend on stable funding, predictable reimbursements and policies that reflect the real costs of care. This is necessary from all healthcare payors, including the state. Eroding established funding levels and risking both the certainty and the timeliness of payments prevents hospitals from making needed investments in the hospital workforce, patient care and capital improvements.