Legislative Update: Week of May 14th

This week the legislature took aim at teachers, with the big issue being requiring teachers to give a certain amount of their paycheck towards their pensions, starting 401ks for new teachers entering the system, and changing some of the benefits current retirees have. This doesn't mean that health care took a back seat this week, let's review the weeks happenings:

House:

The House Health Policy committee met this week and considered a series of bills with the largest being House Bill 5643 which would require generic opioids be tamper resistant to prevent the breaking down of the medication for the purposes of a faster delivery. They also voted on House Bills 5089 and 5090 which deals with prescription drug disposal. The committee is expected to vote on House Bill 5643 next week. In the coming weeks the committee is also expected to start their work on Michigan's Insurance exchange that is mandated in the Affordable Care Act.

Senate:

The Senate Health Policy came back from its over month long hiatus to consider Senate Bill 1122 which would set up educational and procedural requirements for high school athletics for the instances of concussion. MSMS has been working with other concerned about the issues of concussion in high school athletics and provided input on the bill that was considered yesterday. The committee took testimony from MHSAA, physicians, parents, and athletes, all praising the efforts of the sponsors to put procedures in place to put the health of athletes first. The bill will be taken up for a vote at the next committee meeting.

Budget:

The story of the week that wasn't surrounding the elections, was the consensus revenue estimating conference that happened last Wednesday. The House and Senate Fiscal Agencies along with the Michigan Department of Treasury sat down and revised their estimates on the amount of revenue coming into Michigan for the coming fiscal year. The conference was nothing but good news for Michigan's future as they forecasted Michigan's unemployment should fall below 8% by calendar year 2014 and the amount of personal income is forecasted to rise, which means more people going to work and putting more money in their pockets.
With this, it also means a bump for the state coffers with a $49 Million increase in revenue for the next coming fiscal year in General Fund/General Purpose dollars. School aide is forcasted to get an even bigger bump of just over $114 Million. This is great news for Michigan showing that the state is in a solid recovery. With the additional $49 Million, GME could see some of that funding head its way, which would go a long way in trying to solve our physician shortage problem. MSMS will continue to monitor and advocate for some of those additional dollars.

The legislature has set their final date before heading home for summer break, June 14th will be the last session day until the fall. For more information on all of the state and federal legislative activities go to http://www.msms.org/advocacy. With the elections coming up we need to support those that support Michigan's physicians. Go to http://www.mdpac.org to find out how you can help!