Legislative Update Week of February 4th

The past two weeks the Legislature has started to pick up some steam with the Senate moving the blue cross mutualization part two through the Senate and the Governor presenting this budget to the Legislature, let’s review the activities of the past couple weeks:

House:

Committees have been finally formed with Rep. Gail Haines continuing her leadership as Chair of the House Health Policy committee. Rep. Matt Lori will continue his leadership as Chair of the Appropriations subcommittee on the Department of Community Health. The House Health Policy committee started it normal routine for the beginning of the year with briefings from the Department of Community Health for the new members of the committee. With the budget being presented the House Appropriations subcommittees will start to have presentations from their respective state departments.

Senate:

The Senate Insurance Committee over these past couple weeks considered the Blue Cross mutualization issue that started in the last term of the Legislature. This time the Senate listened to the Governor's recommendations in his veto of the previous legislation and passed what the Senate has passed the first time out of committee. The legislation made its way to the Senate floor where it was approved and sent to the House for their consideration where it was sent to the House Insurance Committee.

Budget Presentation:

The Governor this past Thursday Governor Snyder presented to the Legislature his recommendations for fiscal year 2014. With this announcement on Wednesday of supporting the implementation of the Medicaid expansion in Michigan the Governor set out to provide his road map for the financial future for Michigan in the coming fiscal year.

With the Medicaid expansion already being revealed, his announcement for increasing funding for Michigan's infrastructure and budgeting a 2% increase for K-12 funding, the Governor just gave the Legislature some specifics on what he wanted to do for FY 2014.

The Governor asked for increase funding for mental health services, mental health homes, and innovation programs all in an effort to support and strengthen a program that needs it. Many of Michigan's children continue to go without proper dental care, with this budget as with the last, the Governor proposes support Healthy Kids Dental by adding additional funding for the program. With the Governor's report from the task force on Infant Mortality being release middle of last year, he was unable to provide funding for any solutions that the report found, with this fiscal year that is different and proposes adding $2.5 Million to help curb mortality.

With medicine changing the need for innovation is needed now more than ever and the Governor recognizes this, and did so by adding $3 Million for innovation grants for those looking to pioneer medicine's next big breakthrough in Michigan. On the downside Graduate Medical Education took another blow with a recommendation of a cut around $7 Million.

Now it will be up to the legislature on their direction with the budget for FY 2014. MSMS will continue to track and advocate the best for all of Michigan's patients and physicians. Continue to stay with MSMS to receive updates on what is happening at http://www.msms.org/advocacy.