By Marco Iafrate

INS Reporter

A banquet was hosted by Mason County for their quarterly West Michigan Central County Alliance meeting. It was at the Cox Ranch in Eden Township.

The county boards of commissioners in the alliance are Manistee, Osceola, Newaygo, Lake, Oceana, and Mecosta. However, Mecosta was completely absent from the meeting.

Mental Health

Samantha Gibson, a specialist of governmental affairs for the Michigan Association of Counties, made the speech to them about privatizing mental health.

“The State Department of Health and Human Services is really making attempts this year to privatize the public mental health system,” said she.

In particular, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has proposed to open a competitive bidding process for contractors. The MDHHS currently provides these services through Prepaid Inpatient Health Plans.

Much like the solar, wind, and battery initiatives in the state, local governments fear a loss of their own control over it.

There were no questions from any county about any of Gibson’s presentation. Mason County Commissioner Lewis Squires voiced his surprise at that and Gibson sat down.

Drug Discounts and Mobile Hospitals

“This evening we have with us our own Mason County Representative… Curt VanderWall,” Janet Andersen introduced. (Chair of Mason County’s Board of Commissioners).

Although MAC and VanderWall often work together, he said he’s been part of a different initiative in the realm of health.

“I was actually down in Lansing today meeting again on, most of you have heard, 340B,” said he.

It is a prescription drug program which allows certain outpatient drugs to be sold at discounts.

According to the Michigan House website, the discount program was first created in 1992 and passed by the Unites States Congress as part of the Veterans Health Care Act, also by the Congress.

Now, VanderWall and his house committee are working to implement this program into cancer wards, children’s hospitals, hospitals treating high amounts of Medicaid patients, rural hospitals, and rural referral centers.

In addition to the drug discounts, the Representative has been expanding the program to provide financial assistance programs to low-income patients. They have also been trying to get funding for inpatient psychiatric care and pregnancy treatments.

The Representative and others want also to fund mobile health clinics, which are buses designed to bring healthcare to communities.

Ludington’s Corewell Health Hospital is a 340B, according to the Michigan Health and Hospital Association.

The program is said to help hospitals navigate “out of control” drug costs and is a “tool” to get low cost care across the state. This, according to the House.

“We’ve been working on this bill for probably eight months,” said the Representative. A final draft of the bill was said to be coming.

The floor was opened to questions and Squires was first to pitch one over.

“First of all, thank you for your leadership Curt. Second of all, with the new, beautiful bill that’s passed and Medicaid trickling down to the state, how much are we going to be affected actually in Michigan?”

“Right now, we have everything three years out for final… we’re looking at somewhere around $100 million dollars,” VanderWall said.

“$100 million?”

“100 million.”

From other counties, the subject of wind, solar, and battery power came up. Squires then pitched another over.

Ice cream was had following the meeting’s adjournment.

Editor’s Note:

Independent News Service is grateful to the hosts of the evening for granting reporter Marco Iafrate access to the social hour, banquet, and meeting formalities.

Dr. Alfred Beryl, Editor.