Latest news with #ElizabethHertel
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MDHHS helps families stay fed with SUN Bucks
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS)– The , also known as SUN Bucks, is back, and according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, it is to ensure children will have access to nutritious food while school is out. that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service approved Michigan's Summer EBT program to assist low-income families feed kids during the summer. MDHHS officials say families who already have a Bridge card will have a one-time payment of $120 per eligible child added to their existing card. People who don't have a Bridge card will get a pre-loaded one in the mail. If benefits are unused, they will expire and not be reinstated. Children who are eligible according to MDHHS: Children aged 6 to 18 who are recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Medicaid benefits between July 1, 2024, and August 31, 2025, will be automatically enrolled. Medicaid recipients' income must be at or below 185% of the federal poverty level. Students of any age certified as eligible to receive free or reduced-priced lunch through the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program. Approved through the summer EBT application process. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer explains how proud of the Summer EBT program in a news release sent to 6 News. 'Summer is here, but hunger isn't going anywhere,' said Governor Whitmer. 'I'm proud that we're continuing our successful Summer EBT program so no child goes hungry between school years. I'm proud of the work we've done to tackle hunger, including our work to deliver free breakfast and lunch to all 1.4 million public school students, saving their parents nearly $900 a year in groceries and time every morning. While folks in DC keep trying to find ways to cut health care for Michiganders and food benefits for hungry families, here in Michigan we will keep taking action to make a real difference in their lives.' According to Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director, kids who don't have access to healthy food during the summer are at risk of malnutrition. 'Michigan children and their families shouldn't have to worry about going hungry over summer break,' said Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director. 'Summer break is a time when many children lose access to the reliable meals they receive at school, placing them at risk of hunger and malnutrition. The Summer EBT Program, in addition to our other nutrition assistance programs, like WIC and SNAP, helps us close the summer hunger gap by providing every eligible child with nutritious food, addressing one of the key social determinants of health, food insecurity.' To apply to the Summer EBT program, . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
27-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Low-income Michigan families with school-age children to get Summer EBT food assistance
A program called Summer EBT that provides additional grocery funds during the summer on behalf of low-income school-age children is continuing this year in Michigan. Many of the families that are eligible should have already received a letter, and possibly also the funds deposited to their Michigan Bridge card accounts. This step was possible because the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service approved a plan submitted by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Michigan Department of Education. "Michigan children and their families shouldn't have to worry about going hungry over summer break," health services director Elizabeth Hertel said in her statement. The Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program, also called SUN Bucks, is aimed toward children age 6 to 18 who normally are eligible for free or reduced-prices meals during the school day through the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program. The concept started as a pilot program in some areas in 2011 and was part of the federal government's emergency response in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Michigan began participating in the current form of Summer EBT in 2024. Those who are in homes where the family were recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) or the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) have been automatically added to the 2025 Summer EBT. Medicaid recipients also are eligible if their income is at or below 185% of federal poverty level for their household size. For a Michigan family of three, the annual income cutoff on that chart is $47,767. Families who already have a Bridge card will see a one-time payment of $120 per eligible child, the standard benefit amount set by the USDA for the 2025 program year, added to their existing card. Those who don't already have a Bridge card will be sent a card in the mail. The funds can be used before the end-of-summer expiration date at any store or farmer's market that accepts EBT for payment, including some online retailers. Other state-supported programs aimed at feeding children during the summer include Meet Up and Eat Up / Summer Food Service and Meals to Go / Rural Non-Congregate Summer Food Service Program. Availability for those programs will vary by location.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Michigan Health and Human Services director details impacts of federal cuts on state-level efforts
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel discusses Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's Fiscal year 2026 budget recommendations on Feb. 19, 2025. | Kyle Davidson Downsizing and mass job cuts put forth by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have already hampered public health officials in Michigan, Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel declared in court filings earlier this month. Kennedy announced in March that his department would be working to eliminate 20,000 total employees, consolidating DHHS's 28 divisions into 15 and closing half of its regional offices. However, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and 19 other attorneys general took action, arguing these cuts would functionally dismantle the DHHS, leaving it unable to do its job, with Nessel warning the decision could bring 'immeasurable harm' to the nation and healthcare if the courts do not step in. A federal judge has since blocked the Trump Administration from issuing further job cuts and reorganizing the Executive Department until a lawsuit brought by a collection of government workers' and healthcare workers unions is resolved. As part of these cuts, the DHHS is eliminating roughly 3,500 employees at the Food and Drug Administration, 2,400 at the Centers for Disease Control, 1,200 at the National Institutes of Health and 300 at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. HHS Dismantling_Hertel Decl as filed_5.9.25 In a declaration filed as part of the case, Hertel detailed how the reduction of staff and closure of several labs at the CDC alongside cuts at the FDA are hindering the state's work on disease testing, public health and tobacco monitoring. While the Michigan Department of Health and Human services runs its own Bureau of Laboratories, which is enmeshed with labs operated by the CDC and other states' public health agencies, the CDC's lab closures and staffing cuts have left states to fill the gaps. The Bureau was directly impacted by the closure of the CDC Viral Hepatitis Laboratory Branch and its discontinuation of hepatitis testing, and according to Hertel has not received consistent communication from the CDC about test discontinuations. 'As a result of sporadic changes to test offerings by CDC laboratories, the MDHHS Bureau of Laboratories has been unable to determine which tests to prioritize with confidence,' Hertel said. MDHHS also expects to see higher levels of test submissions for Hepatitis C due to the CDC's decision to discontinue testing. 'The MDHHS Bureau of Laboratories serves as the National HIV and Hepatitis C virus NAT Reference Center in cooperation with the CDC and the Association of Public Health Laboratories… if MDHHS shifts its lab capacity to Hepatitis C testing, the MDHHS Bureau of Laboratories staff will have less capacity to respond to other public health emergencies,' Hertel warned. The department has also felt a lack of central coordination on tests discontinued by the CDC, Hertel said, noting that if the national agency is not at full capacity, there won't be a central coordinating agency for responding to disease outbreaks. Bureau of Laboratories staff have also reported difficulties contacting CDC staff, Hertel said. In addition to its impacts on lab testing, DHHS cuts have also significantly impacted the state-level department's work on public health, with Hertel noting that the state relies on a partnership with several CDC programs for infectious disease detection and response activities. As a result, MDHHS staff say communications with CDC subject matter experts is now slow, reduced, or sometimes non-existent. Because key program staff are no longer with the CDC, there has also been confusion on points of contact and a reduced knowledge base, Hertel said. 'As a result, the CDC has failed to provide timely response to inquiries of urgent nature, reduced or eliminated national calls, and can no longer effectively serve as a national coordinator of infectious diseases efforts,' she said. As an example, Hertel pointed to reports from her staff that the CDC is no longer sending out-of-state travel notifications about potential disease exposures to Michigan residents, including notices for diseases with critical timelines, like measles. Staff reported that the CDC was not able to coordinate a recent multi-state effort to investigate a complex and urgent case of human rabies, and is no longer hosting 50-state calls on the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza response, despite ongoing concerns of a global bird flu outbreak. ' Overall, the mass termination of CDC personnel appears to have created a climate of fear for remaining staff, thereby undermining the ability of remaining CDC staff to effectively carry out their jobs by supporting state health departments like MDHHS,' Hertel said. These cuts have similarly left MDHHS without access to updated health data and data systems needed to identify emerging health crises and address disparities in healthcare, Hertel said. Cuts at the CDC have also bled into state-level efforts in preventing HIV, AIDS, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis. The CDC has also cut the entirety of its Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System team and shut down the program's data collection system. While Michigan was able to retrieve its 2024 data before the system shutdown, the CDC's team would normally statistically weight that data, meaning the unweighted data obtained by the state is unusable. 'To use the data, MDHHS would be required to contract with a survey statistician to properly weight this data, expending significant resources that would otherwise have been available from CDC staff,' Hertel said. The CDC also assists the state in monitoring and responding to lead poisoning in children, Hertel said. However, following significant cuts at the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, the MDHHS Environmental Health Bureau has received zero communication from the program. While the CDC previously sent notices about newly identified food and consumer products containing lead, those notices have stopped, Hertel said. MDHHS has similarly experienced issues in its environmental public health efforts including less frequent communications, the end of public health programming work groups with other states, and limited and inconsistent guidance from the CDC leaving the CDC Tracking Data Explorer without updated state-level data on drinking water, biomonitoring and radon. While the CDC also helps the state administer several chronic disease and injury control programs, significant staffing shortages and the loss or potential loss of CDC contracts has left MDHHS with little or no guidance, Hertel said, creating uncertainty regarding the future of these programs. The MDHHS Division of Child and Adolescent Health has also been impacted, Hertel said, with the Administration for Children and Families indefinitely postponing annual training for Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) teen pregnancy prevention grantees. Hertel also pointed to the effectively shuttering of the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health as a major loss, noting the important role it played in preventing and reducing cigarette use by collecting and sharing information on smoking and its health impacts, including state level data on tobacco-use cessation treatments and high-quality reports on tobacco use trends. She also noted the loss of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, which was effectively shuttered when all members of its staff were terminated on April 1. 'Among other duties, [the Center for Tobacco Products] conducted compliance checks on vendors and retailers to ensure that tobacco products are not sold to those under the age of twenty-one, reviewed premarket applications for new tobacco products before they can be marketed in the United States, enforced advertising and promotion restrictions, and educated the public about the risks of tobacco use including the dangers of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products,' Hertel explained, later noting the state relied on both the Center for Tobacco Products and and the Office on Smoking and Health for its Tobacco programs. If Michigan does not receive support and funds from the Office on Smoking and Health, it stands to lose $2,347,639 in grant funding and other resources, Hertel said. Most of that funding supports Michigan Quitlink, which provides services to all Michigan residents for tobacco dependence treatment at a cost of just over $1.2 million annually. It also supports efforts to prevent youth tobacco use, offer healthcare provider training on tobacco dependence treatment and offer improved resources for schools to address vaping. A loss of support from the Center for Tobacco Products could also shutter the state's program ensuring retailers comply with laws banning the sale of tobacco products to underaged customers, as it has been unable to approve and process MDHHS's request for additional funds to remain fully operational during a 2-month contract extension, or issue a solicitation for new state funding. If the state program is shuttered, eight full time staff members would be laid off and $1.485 million dollars would be lost annually, Hertel said. An MDDHS spokesperson declined a followup interview on Hertel's behalf. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
How MDHS says proposed Medicaid cuts could affect Michigan
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Analysts with the state health department are raising the alarm about how proposed cuts to Medicaid would impact healthy systems and health outcomes across the state. Recently, Republicans in Congress announced a plan to cut $880 billion from Medicaid. If passed, it would be the largest cut to Medicaid in its 60-year history. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services released a report this week on the impact of these cuts. According to their report, a reduced federal matching rate would result in just over a billion dollar annual loss to the state budget. New Medicaid work requirements would see a loss of coverage for up to 290,000 Michiganders in the first year. Tax reforms for providers would yield a $2.3 billion payment decrease to state hospitals. But the department's director warned, these cuts won't just impact people on Medicaid. 'It's crucial to remember that people covered by Medicaid health plans are served in underserved areas,' said Director Elizabeth Hertel in a statement to News 8's Detroit affiliate. 'If those facilities or hospitals have to close, it's not only those covered by Medicaid who will lose access; everyone in that region will be affected.' As it stands now, Michigan has approximately 2.6 million Medicaid enrollees, representing 26% of the state's population. Michigan's Medicaid budget is approximately $27.8 billion for this fiscal year. Around 70% of that comes from federal funding. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
DHHS offers student loan repayment for nurses to help recruitment amid staffing shortages
Getty Images The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday launched a program to help nurses repay their student loans and to assist employers in recruiting and retaining nursing staff as facilities across the state face staffing shortages. The Nurse Loan Repayment Program will provide up to $300,000 in tax-free funds to successful applicants to repay student debt for up to four years for those working at state psychiatric facilities or up to 10 years for individuals working at other eligible sites. There is about $9 million in funding available. Applicants will compete for two-year agreements from the program, and are required to work a minimum of 40 hours per week for no less than 45 weeks per year at eligible nonprofit practice sites that provide nursing services. Full-time for nurses in public school settings or who teach at a school of nursing are also eligible. 'Nurses are the backbone of the health care system, providing essential care to patients in hospitals, clinics, schools and homes,' DHHS director Elizabeth Hertel said in a statement. 'They are often the first point of contact for patients and play a critical role in patient education, advocacy and support. Health care facilities across the state are facing nursing shortages and this loan repayment program will help providers recruit and retain nurses to provide vital care to patients.' According to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration 74 of Michigan's 83 counties are experiencing a shortage of primary care providers in at least part of the county. Nurses applying for the program must hold an active license as either a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse. Nurses looking to apply to the program must also: Hold U.S. citizenship. Be committed to providing nursing services in an underserved community, priority site or teaching at a Michigan School of Nursing. Have an agreement of employment at a non-profit practice site, with a start date no later than Oct. 1 following the current application period, before applying for the loan repayment program. Confirm their employers will support their agreements since employers are required to continue employing the applicant during their two-year agreement. Remain with their current employer throughout their two-year loan repayment agreement. Learn and comply with the program's requirements. Employers may not use payments from the Nurse Loan Repayment Program to offset participating employees' salaries or other aspects of their compensation packages. Applications and further information are available at The deadline is Wednesday, June 4. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
