Gratiot County commissioners back resolution opposing MDHHS plan to bid out PIHPs

The Gratiot County Board of Commissioners voted to approve Resolution 25-335 in support of Gratiot Integrated Health Network’s request to oppose a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) proposal to bid out prepaid inpatient health plans (PIHPs).

Michelle Stillway, representing Gratiot Integrated Health Network, told commissioners that the county’s locally governed community mental health system serves about 1,800 people and provides crisis response, mobile response teams, school-based services and jail services. She said the MDHHS proposal would reduce existing regional PIHPs from 10 to three and allow private health plans to bid, which she warned would erode local accountability and reduce funds available for direct services. “When things go to the private sector they have a much higher overhead and administrative cost,” she said. “It would also erode those safety-net services.”

Commissioner Shopsie moved to approve the resolution; Commissioner Gay seconded. The board took a roll-call vote and approved Resolution 25-335. The motion record shows the item was supported by multiple commissioners in roll call and the resolution was adopted.

Why it matters: Gratiot officials and the network argued the change would shift decision-making away from locally governed boards and could shift money away from community-level services into administrative costs for larger private plans. The resolution directs county leaders to register that opposition and support preservation of the current locally governed structure.

Next steps: The resolution registers the county’s opposition and places the county alongside other local governments seeking to preserve locally governed community mental health oversight. No change to state policy was made at the meeting; the resolution is a formal expression of county position.