Hospital Price Bill Moves Before Emotional Testimony On Mental Health Overhaul

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 12/10/2025) The House Health Policy Committee on Wednesday advanced a hospital price transparency bill and several health measures before turning to testimony on a mental health code rewrite designed to respond to individuals before “tragedy strikes.”

Under SB 95, hospitals would, under the law, need to publish a list of prices that is identical to the current list required by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The move comes in case the federal government ever rescinds its order, said Chair Curt VanderWall (R-Ludington).

The committee then took testimony on SB 501, the Senate companion to HB 4101, allowing Michigan to join the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact.

Aaron Dickinson, chief of staff to Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit), said SB 501 “provides the operational framework needed to integrate the licensure compact into state law,” including updated definitions in the public health code, a $90 annual compact privilege fee and an effective date 18 months after enactment. He said the goal is “giving patients better access and providers flexibility.”

Dr. Abigail Skullerud, a physical therapist and legislative director for the Michigan chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association, called the bill largely technical and said joining the compact as the 41st state would help address workforce shortages. “Our hope is by joining the compact . . . this will help us actually be more attractive to out-of-state talent to come to our wonderful state,” she said.

The bulk of the meeting focused on HB 4412, HB 4413 and SB 414, a package to modernize Michigan’s mental health code and expand the use of assisted outpatient treatment (AOT).

Rep. Donni Steele (R-Lake Orion) said the bills “modernize Michigan’s mental health code to reflect today’s clinical and public safety needs,” clarifying peace officer responsibilities in protective custody, expanding who may conduct evaluations to include nurse practitioners and physician assistants, strengthening AOT, and allowing families to communicate with hospitals and petition for continued care of their children. “Overall, the bill improves system responsiveness for individuals in crisis before tragedy strikes,” she said.

Retired Wayne County Probate Judge Milton Mack, who is also chair of the state’s Mental Health Diversion Council, said the current code still forces the system to “wait for crisis before acting,” leading to repeated short hospitalizations, incarceration and homelessness for a small group of very sick individuals. He highlighted studies showing AOT programs dramatically reduce hospitalizations and arrests, and argued the package “expands the use of outpatient treatment to avoid hospitalization” and gives families a way to act “before someone is so sick that they require hospitalization.”

Rep. Brenda Carter (D-Pontiac) pressed Mack on guardrails for low-income and under-resourced communities, citing insurance and transportation gaps and lack of services in the Upper Peninsula. “What protocols do you have in place to ensure that these people are not unnecessarily hospitalized?” she asked, calling for explicit protections in the statute.

Remote witnesses from the National Alliance on Mental Illness and advocates with lived experience echoed support for AOT, and urged changes to better protect patients from unnecessary or fraudulent hospitalizations, ensure quality inpatient care and formally involve families, guardians and peer support specialists in treatment planning.

VanderWall closed by thanking testifiers and stressing the committee’s shared goal, early intervention and better outcomes. “In everything that we’ve done… if hospitalization can be avoided when it comes to mental health, the outcomes are considerably better,” he said.