Michigan Call to Action

In February, Governor Gretchen Whitmer presented her proposed?state budget?to the legislature, outlining her vision for the upcoming fiscal year. The budget includes a $57.9 million allocation for new initiatives under the?Healthy Moms Healthy Babies program, as well as $10 million in grants to support both new and existing CenteringPregnancy sites. The decision to increase funding for CenteringPregnancy is based on the program's proven success in providing effective group prenatal care.

To ensure that this funding is included in the final budget proposal, Centering Healthcare Institute has been advocating for the cause and encourages individuals to reach out to their state legislators. This can be as simple as sending an email, finding them on social media, or attending a coffee chat. Your voice and input on what CenteringPregnancy means to your patients and their constituents will be valued.

The?Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health (MCMCH)?has created several tools to help communicate the CenteringPregnancy request, including a?one-page?handout that shows outcomes data and lists the current sites across the state. They also created a similar template in the?Canva format?that you can use to create a specific piece for your site. In addition to supporting the $10 million grant proposal, you can reinforce the need for sustainable funding through other mechanisms such as Medicaid enhanced reimbursement.

MCMCH supports all of the Governor’s HMHB recommendations and created a similar?one pager?on the total package to support these proposed investments. The budget process is in full swing with preliminary decisions coming in few weeks. Please do not delay in reaching out.

Not sure who your state legislators are? You can find your?State Representative?and?State Senator?by clicking on the hyperlinks and inserting the address of your home, place of work or the Centering site address.

If you want to share feedback from interactions with legislators, get more engaged, or stay up-to-date on what is happening in Lansing, feel free to contact Amy Zaagman, MCMCH Executive Director [email protected]?or sign up for their free weekly e-newsletter by emailing your request [email protected]

If you have specific policy related questions for the Centering team, please reach out to our team [email protected]