Bill 4915 would end implicit-bias training mandate for health-profession licensure; doctors' group and critics spar over evidence
Loading...
Summary
House Bill 4915 would remove a state licensure requirement for implicit-bias training across health professions. Advocates for repeal argued the training is ineffective and burdensome; opponents filed cards in opposition and committee members asked for evidence of effectiveness.
House Bill 4915 would repeal Michigan's implicit-bias training mandate as a condition of licensure and relicensure for many health professions.
Kurt Miceli, medical director for Do No Harm Action, and Dr. Aida Cerundolo, an emergency medicine physician and Do No Harm volunteer, testified in favor of HB4915. Miceli said the mandate applies to 26 health professions and "nearly 400,000 health care professionals" in Michigan and estimated the required 2–3 hours of training per licensing cycle totals about a million hours over renewal periods. He and Dr. Cerundolo argued the implicit-association-test–based trainings lack validity and do not demonstrate reductions in biased behavior.
Dr. Cerundolo told the committee the IAT (implicit-association test) measures reaction times and "does not detect the feelings that people have to the concepts being presented," and she said the training can be divisive and "teach the evils of racism we seek to overcome." Miceli and Cerundolo also said the mandate imposes opportunity costs that divert time from clinically relevant continuing medical education and could contribute to provider attrition; Miceli cited that Michigan's physician count remained around 47,000 from 2016 to 2024 while neighboring states grew.
Representative Altman and other members thanked witnesses and asked about data on effectiveness. Miceli acknowledged limited direct evidence of benefit from current implicit-bias trainings and said his organization has collected expressions of concern from more than 2,000 Michigan health-care providers.
Cards were filed in opposition to HB4915. Danielle Atkinson of Mothering Justice and Paige Fultz of LARA were recorded on the committee's public-comment cards as opposing the bill; the committee did not take a vote.
Ending: Sponsors and proponents argued the mandate is ineffective and burdensome; opponents and some committee members requested rigorous evidence and cautioned against removing training without alternative approaches to reduce disparities.
