[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6532136,"mediaKeyId","3426038-3cd493a0337206273963fe34d9f617d9","parentId",3426038,"title","Committee adopts substitutes and reports two health bills to the House floor","audioSeconds",136,"startMs",3385000,"endMs",3521000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3426038-3cd493a0337206273963fe34d9f617d9&start=3385&end=3521","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3426038-3cd493a0337206273963fe34d9f617d9/thumbnail_3385000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6532136/Michigan/Committee-adopts-substitutes-and-reports-two-health-bills-to-the-House-floor","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6532136-6eb2adcff3eadbb1f7a647a93a901bda/orig.mp4?Expires=1770604367&Signature=K947IaJJR6J5ydVyyRl6UcoZy4CxXfCh-zW8texR-eLWJchP1fZqVzc8AUqYzreD8CjqZF7GuAEaMSQ-PBe4VrVtu0rrPul-3wIdpda4urmKqlNelKhKVs7-jZVjz1~xVv3btNjIBs3KYYTmAR0BDL3YYGSCNhy1OezMDpl076cvOqWezFNvluTEdy7Kijl2htk0lRhCOTaJMsPE7RQ3ycI2mFtgMsPUEENzHDn2dkXTRSqze7Swr7YYYo1gyUMHytF2D7tAr0~9XQkk9iuwRhhHXo8BSOPoV37dffJac5JQFVkJGS8KaehVd4qmG5niYdLVrRnOpWk688xOHPuVEw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Michigan Legislature","date","2025-05-21T00:00:00Z","article","The House Health Policy Committee voted to adopt H-1 substitute language and to report House Bills 40-37 and 40-38 to the full House with recommendation.

On House Bill 40-37: Representative Meerman moved to adopt the H-1 substitute. The clerk recorded a roll call for the substitute and the chair announced \"14 yays, 0 nay, 0 pass; the motion prevails.\" Representative Preston subsequently offered an amendment to add a transparency mechanism allowing patients to query the health data utility for entities that accessed their records over the prior six years; the amendment was adopted (clerk roll call announced as 14 yays, 0 nay, 0 pass). Representative Tisdale then moved to report House Bill 40-37 to the House floor with recommendation. The clerk recorded a roll call for that motion and the chair announced the result as \"12 yays, 0 nay\" and the motion prevailed. The committee record in the transcript therefore shows the substitute and amendment adopted and HB 40-37 reported to the floor with recommendation.

On House Bill 40-38: Representative DeBoer moved to adopt the H-1 substitute; the clerk roll call resulted in the chair announcing \"13 ayes, 0 nay, 1 pass; the motion prevails.\" Representative Bierlein moved to report House Bill 40-38 to the floor with recommendation; the clerk roll call recorded the final result as \"12 ayes, 0 nay, 2 pass,\" and the motion prevailed, reporting HB 40-38 to the House floor with recommendation.

All roll-call tallies and the text of the amendment were read on the committee record. The transcript does not contain the full text of the H-1 substitutes; committee members said changes primarily reflected department correspondence.

The committee excused absent members and adjourned.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Health Policy - 5/21/2025","oneSentenceSummary","The House Health Policy Committee adopted H-1 substitutes and reported House Bills 40-37 and 40-38 to the floor with recommendations; Representative Preston's amendment adding a six-year patient access query to the health data utility was adopted for HB 40-37.","taxTitle","2025 House Legislature MI, Michigan","taxId",77683,"location","Michigan","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6532141,"Committee considers bill to bar intrusive mental-health questions on professional licensing applications",1295,1797000,3092000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3426038-3cd493a0337206273963fe34d9f617d9&start=1797&end=3092","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3426038-3cd493a0337206273963fe34d9f617d9/thumbnail_1797000.jpg","/articles/6532141/Michigan/Committee-considers-bill-to-bar-intrusive-mental-health-questions-on-professional-licensing-applications","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6532141-f2df4079edbbcca64f3b17d36c2b5ccb/orig.mp4?Expires=1770604367&Signature=T62YTYcJ2i~MutDzDd022jGna7tFFMpgW-ximJl7qOqdY6iw8cIled5oZwkmLRXOtB~ZfLXsf3afiiDn9LIqR0VmpTEzCU75-lnz5-bHKEiSP8RhBpKUg89eDY06ub3gs9skXkUXegkSHFBY2qHwQnWwmNlnbK9GrLw2mKeyu2dN-F~S4fJXpjOx8mM6mbLU3iaagUQXeIMxVr0IZrh5c3Fs~lx4dxuPXNs~yoWe3apWVKxFs6mmCtwQC4uf6Uf87EnIT9ADfEN33JrbDpQ0MX~Cse1Y-29CuIq9irTQol4Y5ER8VQ1excVihm~vG71KC3zs~fCZwEr-U90CEJiTpw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Paul Bierlein introduced House Bill 42-77 to the House Health Policy Committee and spoke in favor of the legislation, saying narrowly tailored licensure questions protect patient safety without deterring clinicians from seeking mental-health care.

\"In some states when medical professionals apply for a license or renew an existing one, they are asked to provide...questions related to their physical and mental health,\" Bierlein told the committee. \"The reality is that many in the medical field chose not to get help for treatable mental health conditions because they fear it will endanger their license.\" He described HB 42-77 as a prophylactic measure that would limit licensing applications to two narrowly worded items: whether the applicant currently poses a risk to patient safety and whether the applicant can perform essential functions with or without reasonable accommodation.

Dr. Britney Taylor, a double-boarded internist and pediatrician practicing in Flint, testified in support and described physician burnout and the professional climate that discourages help-seeking. \"We must stop framing help seeking as a weakness,\" Taylor said. She urged the committee to codify the current Michigan practice into statute to prevent administrative changes from reintroducing intrusive questions.

Dr. Stephanie Simons, chief medical officer for the Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation, joined the hearing by Zoom and also supported the bill. Simons described national evidence and a Mississippi example in which removing look‑back mental-health questions led to increased self-reporting for care. She told lawmakers removing such questions and improving transparency about credentialing questions increases economic certainty for workers and encourages clinicians to seek care.

Committee members asked how the bill would preserve existing safeguards for patient safety. Simons and other witnesses explained the bill does not remove mechanisms to address impairment; instead, it eliminates look‑back questions about diagnoses and treatment while retaining impairment-focused questions and existing monitoring and professional health programs. \"We're not asking look back questions on diagnosis or treatment of mental health care,\" Simons said. \"What we're asking to be codified into law is that we're not asking look back questions.\" She noted hospitals and state professional-health programs retain monitoring and disciplinary mechanisms for impaired clinicians.

Witnesses and the sponsor emphasized that the bill applies to all licensed health professions and that gaps in provider networks and timely access to mental-health services remain a separate problem.

Several physician and hospital organizations filed cards indicating support without oral testimony, including the Michigan State Medical Society and Michigan Health and Hospital Association.

No committee vote on HB 42-77 was recorded in the transcript; testimony concluded and the committee proceeded to other bills.","House Bill 42-77 would amend the public health code to restrict licensure questions to current ability and risk to patient safety, aiming to reduce stigma and encourage health-care workers to seek mental-health care without fear of licensing consequences.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6532146,"House committee hears testimony on bills to add advocates to recipients' rights advisory committee and to require written rights notice for voluntary psych in-p",1388,326000,1714000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3426038-3cd493a0337206273963fe34d9f617d9&start=326&end=1714","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3426038-3cd493a0337206273963fe34d9f617d9/thumbnail_326000.jpg","/articles/6532146/Michigan/House-committee-hears-testimony-on-bills-to-add-advocates-to-recipients-rights-advisory-committee-and-to-require-written-rights-notice-for-voluntary-psych-in-p","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6532146-7c4484f00c07c1ea7d1a5a720b495760/orig.mp4?Expires=1770604367&Signature=LoFrn-E-MIWJ1YHXZXFdUosptQI1tUSYq7THEjnZz7p~1rZZca4Dcs7OZFTH0bjXGRGZGfOe5WVLAX6CRuo7GnZq1Phgc1unvphx6o8Zc1dl73qHd5oQjzov5HGAcLGiV0EpXUSETzsPPc2loqySuBWF8aT4GAHuhqFfkZbmS5CbzoHg14a-8ALZaEKuJdwKXwpHK8R6C8wrr0wOUk8amL53HEO41f2PwM2JVuNt7aGWkIpn8rBHK5spTLdhYl8loBKeKonEhu9a~IItLzemdICxOZplJI3D~97z8W3CcuMNPbvUq-FIfPeRZTtGHxKBlb6JBcBKqXZ9gYIjPeZStw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Karen Thompson, a registered nurse and member of the House Health Policy Committee, introduced House Bills 42-18 and 42-19 and opened testimony before the committee.

The package stems from an ongoing auditor general investigation and would change how the Office of Recipient Rights operates inside the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. \"This package stems from a current investigation from the auditor general, and it aims to actually improve the oversight and bring peace of mind to families,\" Representative Thompson said. She told the committee the bills would add Disability Rights Michigan, The Arc of Michigan and the Mental Health Association in Michigan as permanent, standing members of the Recipients' Rights Advisory Committee and would bar MDHHS executive office staff from appointment to that body.

The bills also would require psychiatric hospitals to provide voluntarily admitted psychiatric patients written — and, if requested, oral — notice of their rights. \"When someone is in a fragile state of mind...they need to know in written form and in oral form,\" Thompson said, adding that current law requires written notice only for involuntarily committed patients.

Mary Anne Huff of the Mental Health Association in Michigan testified in support, placing the bills in historical context and saying the association's mission includes ensuring people who receive mental health services get quality care. \"Part of what we do in our association is we really try to make sure that anybody with a mental health condition or substance use disorder... have quality treatment,\" Huff said.

Simon Zagada, director of the community and institutional rights team at Disability Rights Michigan, also testified in support. Zagada described crisis conditions in hospitals and said written notice would reduce confusion about how a voluntarily admitted patient could end treatment. \"It's hard to remember verbal information. That's why today we submitted written testimony and we're speaking,\" Zagada said. He described a process under the Mental Health Code that requires voluntarily admitted patients who wish to leave to sign an intent to terminate treatment form and said hospitals then have 72 hours to evaluate the patient and either discharge or begin the probate court process if involuntary retention is sought.

Committee members asked questions about whether the bills would make it easier for patients who pose a risk to leave hospital care. Zagada and Thompson both said the bills do not change existing safety processes. Thompson explained the 72-hour evaluation and the ability for physicians to pursue involuntary hospitalization if the patient meets statutory criteria.

Lawmakers also asked about accessibility for patients who are incoherent or cannot read: Thompson said written notices should be accompanied by reading, rewording or translation as needed so the notice is not a mere \"check-in-the-box.\" \"It will be very important for people to receive their rights... if they need it read to them or if they need it reworded, if they need it in a different language, that that's provided,\" she said.

Multiple organizations filed cards stating they did not wish to speak but supported the bills, including the Mental Health Association in Michigan, Disability Rights Michigan and The Arc of Michigan.

The measures were taken up as testimony only in committee; no committee vote on either bill was recorded in the transcript.

The committee then moved on to other business after the testimony concluded.","The House Health Policy Committee heard testimony on House Bills 42-18 and 42-19, which would add advocacy organizations to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' (MDHHS) Recipients' Rights Advisory Committee and require psychiatric hospitals to provide written and oral notice of rights to voluntarily hospitalized patients.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee adopts substitutes and reports two health bills to the House floor

Committee considers bill to bar intrusive mental-health questions on professional licensing applications

House committee hears testimony on bills to add advocates to recipients' rights advisory committee and to require written rights notice for voluntary psych in-p