Bipartisan legislation was announced in the House this week that is designed to increase investments in primary care, expand access, and build the healthcare workforce Michigan communities need. Currently in Michigan, 75 of the state’s 83 counties and nearly one in three people lack regular access to primary care.
The Problem:
-
- Less than 6% of the state’s healthcare spending is toward primary care.
- As a result, primary care faces growing pressure due to significant pay gaps between primary care and specialty medicine, high medical school debt, limited residency opportunities, an aging workforce, and an aging population with increasing healthcare needs.
The Primary Care Transformation Package would:
-
- Make a 12% investment target for state-contract health plans, which would double the current investment in primary care over eight years.
- Establish a State Commission on Primary Care Access, Improvement, and Transformation to track investment, workforce trends, and access gaps. Additionally, it would identify strategies to expand care.
- Create an Office of Primary Care Transformation within the Department of Health and Human Services to track investment, provide technical assistance, and support grants and pilot programs.
- Codify MiDOCS in state law to recruit and retain primary care physicians in underserved communities through loan repayment assistance, scholarships, and ongoing program oversight.
- Provide tax credits to primary care preceptors who train and mentor future healthcare providers.
- Create grants for Michigan medical schools to introduce middle and high school students to healthcare careers.
- Create MEDSS, a state-backed loan program to help Michigan students pursuing primary care careers continue their graduate health education after reaching the federal student loan cap.
