Michigan mental health service shift blocked by Court of Claims
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.
