House Oversight panel questions Michigan Public Health Institute on funding, staffing and ties to MDHHS

The House Oversight Subcommittee on Public Health and Food Security heard from Dr. Renee Branch Kennedy, CEO of the Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI), about MPHI’s structure, funding sources and its contractual relationship with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).

MPHI is a quasi‑nonprofit organization created by statute to extend public health capacity in Michigan through partnerships with the state and three research universities. “Public health is what we as a society do together,” Dr. Branch Kennedy said, describing MPHI’s role as a bridge among state government, universities and philanthropic funders. She told the panel that MPHI was designed to be at arm’s length from the state so it could pursue funding sources the state could not.

The committee pressed Dr. Branch Kennedy on MPHI’s budget and staffing. She said roughly 55% of MPHI’s overall budget comes from federal funding, and that about 86% of MPHI’s dollars now flow through MDHHS. She told the panel…