Ottawa County committee urges state to release mental‑health funds as federal Medicaid cuts loom

The Ottawa County Planning & Policy Committee on May 13 approved a resolution asking the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to release mental‑health funding the legislature previously approved and to clarify actuarial calculations used to distribute Medicaid dollars.

The resolution, advanced to the full county Board of Commissioners, was promoted by Dr. Michael Burchard, chief executive officer of Ottawa County Community Mental Health, who told commissioners that the state appropriated $4.3 billion for mental‑health services but the department planned to distribute roughly $4.1 billion — a gap he described as a roughly $232 million shortfall in the system. "They don't think we need it," Burchard said of the department's distribution approach, adding that the department's actuarial study uses older utilization data and has not disclosed the variables behind its calculation.

Committee members and public commenters framed the resolution as a near‑term step to press the state to deliver funds already approved. Public commenter Becky Patrick of Allendale told commissioners that federal proposals under discussion could compound state shortfalls and urged the committee to use its…