WLUC TV6 in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula published a story May 29 on the shortage of inpatient psychiatric beds in Michigan, placing a heavy focus on the testimony the MHA delivered May 20 before the House Oversight Subcommittee on Public Health and Food Security.
The story references results from the MHA’s emergency department boarding survey and the annual hospital workforce survey, while also mentioning several proposed solutions.
WNEM-TV also aired a segment May 26 discussing the impact of federal Medicaid funding cuts on the state. MHA Executive Vice President Laura Appel appears in the segment sharing the consequences of the current federal budget reconciliation bill.
Appel was also quoted in a Detroit Free Press story reacting to a hospital drug pricing report published by the Michigan Health Purchasers Coalition. The study uses a limited data set that was not published with the findings to make broad claims about pharmaceutical drug prices in hospitals. Appel discussed the complexity of hospital financing and mentioned the many factors not considered in the study that impact drug pricing.
“We’re all paying attention to affordability and trying to make sure that patients get the care they need without being financially burdened, but we don’t think that the place to start is by placing blame on hospitals, which are really, to some extent, price takers from drug manufacturers,” said Appel.
Members with any questions regarding media requests should contact John Karasinski at the MHA.