Sen. Kevin Hertel, chair of the Senate Health Policy Committee, presented virtually to the Legislative Policy Panel.
The MHA Legislative Policy Panel met Jan. 24 to develop recommendations for the MHA Board of Trustees on legislative initiatives impacting Michigan hospitals.
The meeting was highlighted by a presentation from Sen. Kevin Hertel (D-Saint Clair Shores). Hertel is the chair of the Senate Health Policy Committee and discussed several relevant healthcare issues. He was proud of his committee’s work in passing Senate Bill 482 out of the chamber in 2023, which would lift the state’s 90-day disposal requirement for sharps containers. The bill has been referred to the House Health Policy Committee. Hertel also mentioned several issues he expects to see attention in 2024, including activity around a state-based health insurance exchange marketplace, efforts to address staffing shortages and work around behavioral health.
Regarding action items, the panel made two recommendations. The first is for the MHA to support House Bill 5295, which would license certified anesthesiologist assistants in Michigan. The panel also recommends the MHA continue to engage with stakeholders regarding the creation of a licensure pathway for foreign trained medical professionals.
The panel received a federal update from Carlos Jackson with Cornerstone Government Affairs, as well as state legislative updates regarding the healthcare workforce, state budget and Medicaid funding.
For more information on the MHA Legislative Policy Panel, contact Adam Carlson at the MHA.
A diverse coalition of healthcare, business and advocacy organizations published a letter to members of the Michigan Legislature today opposing the proposed House Bills 4550-4552 and Senate Bills 334-336, which threaten to put patient care at risk across Michigan.
“These partners from a broad collection of industries all agree imposing a one-size-fits-all legislative mandate to hospital nurse staffing will harm patients and severely restrict access to care in Michigan communities,” said Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association. “Our nurses, patients and communities deserve more than political posturing that puts healthcare access at risk.”
The proposed bills would mandate one-size-fits-all nurse staffing ratios for all Michigan hospitals, which would not solve existing staffing shortages, as evidenced in other states that have tried this policy. In California, which has had legislatively mandated staffing ratios for over two decades, the state still faces a shortage of 40,000 RNs. Additionally, Michigan outperforms California in hospital quality, as Michigan has both a higher percentage of 4- and 5-star hospitals than California (49% to 35.3%) and a lower percentage of 1- and 2-star hospitals (18.4% to 38.7%), according to CMS Care Compare Hospital Overall Star Ratings.
The United States is facing a national nurse shortage issue, exacerbated by the aging nursing workforce, as many experienced nurses approach retirement. Currently, 32.3% of licensed RNs in Michigan are 55 years of age or older and nearly 8,500 open nursing positions exist statewide. A survey of 109 Michigan hospitals conducted in July 2023 shows Michigan is at risk of losing up to 5,100 hospital beds across the state if this legislation is implemented. This total represents 23% of Michigan’s overall statewide hospital bed capacity and is equivalent to closing all hospitals north of Grand Rapids and Flint.
The coalition emphasizes that mandatory nurse staffing ratios have a broader impact beyond hospitals alone, affecting all healthcare providers’ ability to hire nurses. With a finite pool of available RNs, nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities, physician practices and other healthcare settings will experience increased difficulty in recruiting and hiring nurses, especially as hospitals compete for the same talent pool.
“The entire healthcare sector is facing historic workforce shortages,” said Melissa Samuel, Health Care Association of Michigan President/CEO. “We all need more nurses. Unfortunately, these bills exacerbate the problem and fail to offer meaningful solutions.”
The potential impact to the business community is significant. Data collected from hospitals indicates the proposed ratios could increase healthcare costs by over $1 billion, impacting economic development and employers.
Recent EPIC-MRA polling of Michigan voters indicates that 82% do not believe the government should mandate one-size-fits-all nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in every hospital, and if the bills were to become law, 83% of Michigan voters would be concerned about their ability to receive care, or the wait times, in a Michigan hospital emergency room.
The coalition supports the following alternative solutions to address the nurse staffing shortages:
Join the Nurse Licensure Compact: Bring Michigan into the national Nurse Licensure Compact to reduce barriers for out-of-state nurses to practice in Michigan immediately, joining 41 other jurisdictions across the country.
Expand Michigan Reconnect Eligibility: Lower the age requirement to 18 and older, encouraging more individuals to pursue nursing careers.
Funding Innovative Approaches to Workplace Violence Prevention in Healthcare Settings: This complements the passage of House Bills 4520 and 4521 that increase penalties for violence committed against healthcare workers and would make the nursing profession more attractive by addressing safety concerns.
To date, Michigan hospitals, health systems and other healthcare providers have focused on addressing staffing shortages by implementing various measures, including increased compensation, partnerships with post-secondary education institutions, emotional well-being support, modernizing scope of practice rules and recruitment awareness campaigns such as MI Hospital Careers.
The MHA received media coverage the week of April 24 regarding the MHA Keystone Center’s work implementing the Age-friendly Health Systems initiative throughout Michigan and how Michigan health systems are utilizing foreign nurses to fill staffing shortages.
Second Wave Michigan published an article April 27 as part of their State of Health series about efforts being made throughout the state to make Michigan more age-friendly. Sarah Scranton, executive director of the MHA Keystone Center, discussed the importance of prioritizing the needs of Michigan’s aging population and how hospitals are adopting a framework to become more age-friendly.
“Older adults have very complex needs. It’s important that the medical field prioritizes what is important to the patient, not just what they think might be wrong,” said Scranton. “It’s really all about listening to the patient and taking what matters to them into consideration.”
The Detroit Free Press published a story April 28 focusing on how Henry Ford Health and other Michigan health systems are utilizing foreign nurses, particularly those from the Philippines, to fill staffing shortages in nursing. The article referenced two data points provided by the MHA, which includes the 27,000 job openings in Michigan hospitals according to a March 2023 MHA member survey and the loss of 1,700 staffed hospital beds in the state since the pandemic began.
Members with any questions regarding media requests should contact John Karasinski at the MHA.
