Senate Passes Health Care Claims Tax

After a failed attempt earlier this week, the Senate passed Senate Bills 347 and 348.  The bills repeal the current 6 percent use tax paid by managed care organizations and replace it with a 1 percent health insurance claims tax. 

Incorporated into the already enacted '11-'12 state budget, the tax in SB 348 is crucial to ensuring the 2011-12 Medicaid budget is balanced. It will raise an estimated $400 million on health insurance claims and leverage another $800 million in federal Medicaid matching funds.  

The Council e-mailed a letter to all members of the Legislature last week urging passage of SB 348. The administration has identified reductions in Medicaid provider rates as the most likely place the shortfall would be recouped if SB 348 is not enacted and many provider groups and health care organizations  have been active advocating for passage. Read the full letter here.  

The bill now moves to the House, where the next scheduled session day is July 27. Thank you to all of our members who voiced support for SB 348. Please send thank-you messages to the senators who voted for SB 348. Voting yes: Senators Anderson, Booher, Casperson, Caswell, Emmons, Green, Gregory, Hansen, Hildenbrand, Hood, Hopgood, Hunter, Jansen, Kahn, Kowall, Marleau, Meekhof, Moolenaar, Pappageorge, Pavlov, Proos, Richardville, Robertson, Smith, Walker and Warren. 

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Executive Order Establishes New Office of the Great Start 

On Wednesday Governor Snyder signed an executive order creating the Michigan Office of Great Start, which will consolidate the state's early childhood programs and resources into a single office within the Department of Education.  The office will coordinate the 84 separate funding sources for early childhood programs that are currently spread out across various state agencies.  

"Success in school and life starts well before a child's first day in the classroom, but the fragmented approach we have now makes it difficult to ensure needs are being met," Snyder said in a statement.  "Coordinating these worthwhile programs through one office will help make sure children are best served and developmentally on track."

The Office of Great Start will be overseen by state Superintendent of Public Instruction and will bring the following programs into the Office:

· Office of Child Development and Care, currently in the Department of Human Services

· Head Start Collaboration Office, currently in the Department of Human Services

· Office of Early Childhood Education and Family Services, currently in the Michigan Department of Education

The governor first announced this key initiative as a part of his plan to reinvent Michigan's educational system. The new office is intended to refocus the state's early childhood investment strategy by adopting a single set of measureable outcomes, including making sure children are born healthy, that they are developmentally on track from birth to third grade, that children are ready to succeed in school at the time of entry and they are reading proficiently by the end of the third grade.

The full text of E.O. 2011- 8 is available online at michigan.gov/snyder.

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Sandbox Party Baseball Events  

It's time to "Slide into the Sandbox" with other families and advocates of infants and young children as the Michigan Sandbox Party partners with the Traverse City Beach Bums, the Lansing Lugnuts and the West Michigan Whitecaps to offer special-event programming at three fun-filled ball games in July. 

For attendance by Michigan Sandbox Party supporters, tickets are available at discounted prices or for free, depending on the venue, said the movement's special events manager, Sarah Triplett. The games are scheduled for July 17 in Traverse City, July 24 in Lansing, and July 25 in West Michigan.

Four free sandboxes, compliments of the Michigan Sandbox Party, will go to four winners at each ballpark, along with other prizes and children's games.

For detailed information on all three games, including tickets, here. 

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Public Comment Invited on Draft Title V Block Grant Application 

The Department of Community Health annually submits to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services an application for funding for services to pregnant women, mothers, children, and children with special health care needs. The application includes the identification of ten state priorities, a plan for services for the period October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012, and a report on services provided in 2010.  The ten priorities identified for 2011-2016 are: 

• Increase the proportion of intended pregnancies
• Increase the proportion of Children's Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) population that has access to a medical home and integrated care planning.
• Reduce obesity in children, including children with special health care needs, and women of child-bearing age
• Address environmental issues (asthma, lead poisoning, and second-hand smoke) affecting children, youth and pregnant women
• Reduce African American and Native American infant mortality rate
• Decrease the rate of sexually transmitted diseases among youth 15-24 years of age
• Reduce intimate partner and sexual violence
• Increase access to dental care for pregnant women and children, including children with special health care needs
• Reduce discrimination in health care services in publicly-funded programs

Key sections of the draft application can be viewed on the Department's website. 

A copy of the complete application can be obtained by contacting Denise Reinhart.The Department welcomes comments on all aspects of the application by July 14, 2011. Comments can be submitted here. 

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