Early-May 2025 Newsletter

Senate DHHS Budget Makes Multiple Adjustments to Governor's Recs
The chair of the subcommittee crafting the Department of Health and Human Services budget said the product reported Thursday included several funding items that will help Michigan families improve health outcomes.

Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit), chair of the Senate Appropriations Health and Human Services Subcommittee, also told reporters her hope is that the state can pass its budget in a timely fashion while being in a position to minimize the blow as the possibility looms of steep Medicaid and other federal funding cuts.

"Medicaid is not just a line item, it is a lifeline," Santana said. "Expanding access to care isn't a partisan issue, it is a matter of public trust, fiscal responsibility and human dignity."

Members reported the S-1 substitute version of SB 180, the DHHS budget, by a 6-4 vote along party lines.

Under the Senate DHHS recommendations, spending would be set at $39.31 billion ($7.27 billion General Fund).

This was above the governor's recommendation of $39.15 billion gross funding but slightly less than the governor's recommendation of $7.37 billion General Fund.

Santana told reporters that during the appropriations process efforts have been made to put the state in the best position possible to be protected in the event of steep federal funding cuts, particularly to Medicaid.

It is estimated that Michigan could see a more than $1 billion shortfall in Medicaid funding if significant cuts become a reality.

"We have pulled numbers around what a match rate will look like at the state level, if that is reduced for the state of Michigan," Santana said. "It would be hard to fill that gap, so I'm hoping that they don't make that decision on the federal side, because it would be harmful to families. It is a lifeline."

Given the uncertainty of the federal funding situation, Santana said in the case of the DHHS budget it is almost beneficial that it might take until closer to the fiscal year deadline to complete it this year.

"As we move through this process, if we do see some action by the federal government, we do want to make sure that we can react to that action as swiftly as possible," Santana said. "It is good that we're slow-rolling it in some respects, but we want to be responsible as far as timelines, because we don't know what they're going to do."

Santana added that there are various emergency funds that exist within state government but there is not sufficient funding within those funds that could be used to cover a potential gap.

Despite the federal funding concerns, Santana was pleased with the overall product that was reported Thursday.

She praised Rx Kids program expansion provided for in the budget recommendation, calling it highly beneficial to families and new mothers.

The Senate included $58 million ($48 million General Fund) for an expansion of the program. Launched in 2024 in Flint, it consists of a $1,500 cash prescription during a pregnancy and then $500 per month for between six and 12 months after the child's birth.

"This has been beneficial for families to receive those additional dollars to be able to support whatever needs they have, whether it be paying for diapers or necessities for the baby or even just paying their rent to have a roof over their heads," Santana said. "It helps to mitigate the stress of the mother, which also mitigates the stress of the family."

The governor proposed $1 million General Fund for water bill payment assistance. The Senate raised this to $7 million General Fund in its recommendation. It also maintained $6 million in one-time spending for water affordability, putting the total at $13 million toward water affordability programs.

"It's really important that we continue to fund water," Santana said. "If people don't have water, you have other issues that happen within the health care system."

A proposal for $15.2 million to begin operations of the new state psychiatric hospital in Northville was not included. When asked about not including the funding, Santana said the facility is still under construction and it is still about 18 months from completion.

One key difference between the governor's proposal was that a proposed $96.4 million increase ($33.1 million General Fund) to expand Medicaid eligibility was reduced in the Senate recommendation to $41.3 million ($14.2 million General Fund).

Medicaid currently requires elderly and disabled beneficiaries with income above the federal poverty level to spend their income on health care costs until their remaining income is less than 40 percent of the federal poverty level. The governor in her budget proposal called for those individuals to only be required to spend until their income reaches 100 percent of the federal poverty level to access Medicaid.

In the Senate proposal, individuals would only be required to spend until their income reaches 60 percent of the federal poverty level to access Medicaid.

There was another proposal by the governor that the Senate did not include. The governor proposed $40 million in new funding ($20 million General Fund) to provide health care services for prisoners starting 90 days prior to their release, with the idea being to help those close to transitioning back to society be provided with services including health screenings and medications to help with the move.

The Senate did not align with the governor's proposal to take $46.8 million from the state's share of the national opioid settlement for prevention, treatment, harm reduction, recovery and data collection.

Of this funding, the governor proposed $15 million in one-time dollars for new programs to reduce opioid usage and overdoses, which the Senate recommendation did not include. The $31.8 million in ongoing funding for existing programs the governor recommended was reduced in the Senate budget to $21.8 million.

The Senate included funding for several items which the governor did not. These included $14.4 million ($5 million General Fund) for the MiChoice high-risk cost pool; $14.1 million ($4.9 million General Fund) for covering long-term care acute care hospital rates; $10 million General Fund for permanent supportive housing and $6 million General Fund for children's advocacy center grants.

One-time General Fund items included in the Senate recommendation include $10 million for reproductive health access grants and $5 million for medical debt relief.

Also included was an 85 cents per hour non-clinical direct care worker pay increase totaling $14 million ($6.2 million General Fund).

The Senate budget also included $315 million consisting of state restricted funding and federal match dollars to continue adult home care wage increases by the department.

House Window for Budget Earmark Requests Now Closed
The House received more than 800 submissions representing $4 billion in spending requests for budget earmarks through the new portal created this year.

"The new process we created this year marks a historic step toward restoring transparency and accountability in how taxpayer dollars are spent," said Rep. Ann Bollin (R-Brighton), chair of the House Appropriations Committee, in a statement. "For the first time, every request for dedicated funding has been submitted publicly, with full details available for everyone to see."

Earlier this year, the House unanimously adopted HR 14, which requires that earmarks must be made public 14 days before the passage of a bill or conference report. That means the House won't add or approve earmarks for special projects mere hours after making the budget public. It will also diminish the opportunity to pass the entire budget by conference committee with little to no public notice.

Rep. Karen Whitsett (D-Detroit) submitted the most requests, with 41 entries listed in the online portal. Rep. John Roth (R-Interlochen) had the second highest number of requests at 29. Rep. Tim Kelly (R-Saginaw Township) made 27 requests and Rep. Kathy Schmaltz (R-Jackson) made 25.

Bollin went on to say the House had no intention of spending billions of dollars on special projects requested by lawmakers.

"Our focus is on making sure every dollar is invested wisely and used to provide real value for the people of Michigan – not to reward political allies or fund wasteful projects," she said in a statement. "At the same time, if we're going to make smart, responsible investment, the good projects need to be on the table for consideration – and that's exactly what this new public process has accomplished.

Bollin said the Appropriations Committee would thoroughly review each submission and carefully vet them to ensure any projects that move forward would serve the public.

DCD OUT & ABOUT

Jake German was happy to arrange a tour of the Spectrum Juvenile Justice Facility in Highland Park with State Representative Mai Xiong.  Joing Rep. Xiong (L-R) were Stacie Bowens of Spectrum Child & Family Services, Derrick McCree of Spectrum Juvenile Justice Services, and Josh Swaninger, CEO of Spectrum Human Services.

(Left) Jake and Gov. Engler caption: Jake was grateful for the opportunity to catch up with former Governor John Engler at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy dinner held at the Henry Ford Museum last week.

(Right) Justin and Neeley: Justin Dunaskiss was in attendance at a recent fundraiser for Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley held at the home of DCD client Avinash Rachmale, President of Lakeshore Global Corporation.

ARTICLES OF POLITICAL INTEREST:

Thousands of Miles of Michigan Trails Need Clearing After Ice Storm

Michigan Medicaid Has Ballooned.  Cuts Are Likely.  Here's What to Know

Liberal Judges Tighten Grip on Michigan Supreme Court

Michigan Special Elections: What Metro Detroit Voters Should Know on May 6th

Wayne County, Michigan Voters Weigh in on Trumps First 100 Days

Marijuana News, Updates, & Articles of Interest

THE DCD MARIJUANA TEAM:  YOUR COMPETITIVE EDGE!

DCD continues to exist as the premier resource helping municipalities navigate the waters of cannabis policy. We would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have regarding medical or recreational cannabis policy, procedure, and more. DCD is available for presentations to municipal boards, for one-on-one meetings, and for consultations.

We are here to help you with: municipal lobbying, license application writing and assistance, business plans, state required operations manuals and compliance, facility design, corporate structure, and design and branding. 

We are experts in both medical and recreational cannabis policy and have been in the space for over ten years.  We welcome any opportunity to work with you in the future!

ARTICLES OF CANNABIS INTEREST:

State Supreme Court Dismisses Warren Marijuana Case

'Life Savings are on the Line,' Michigan Cannabis Regulator Warns

Special Meeting Planned to Discuss Eastpointe Cannabis Retail Business

How Much Revenue are Indiana's Neighbors Making off Marijuana Sales?

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