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The dispute began last fall, when the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) issued a request that would have consolidated Michigan’s 10 Prepaid Inpatient Health Plans (PIHPs) regions—funded primarily through Medicaid behavioral health dollars—into three “super-regions.” Regional PIHPs later learned that they, as the current providers, were excluded from bidding because they are statutorily restricted to operating within their designated regions. The PIHPs filed a lawsuit, arguing the RFP violated Michigan law and threatened locally administered mental health care that has existed since the 1990s.

For Haak-Frost and Watershed Voice, affordable housing has long been more than a policy topic—it is a core part of the newsroom’s mission-based community journalism. Haak-Frost has written and overseen coverage that explores affordable housing both as a concept and as a lived experience, asking what it truly means, who it serves, and where it falls short.

Residents spoke for nearly three hours during the public hearing portion of agenda, with nearly every speaker voicing opposition to the rezoning.