In the spring, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services proposed to solicit bids for the state’s Prepaid Inpatient Health Plan (PIHP) contracts. MAC joined with the Community Mental Health Association and other stakeholders in urging the department to reverse course. Opposition efforts included litigation in state courts.
In late September, however, it became clear the state was not to be dissuaded from its course. And a much-anticipated ruling from the Court of Claims did not block the state’s project prior to the bid submission deadline.
This left MAC to make tough choices quickly to continue our defense of local control by engaging in the RFP process we had opposed at the policy level.
Why did MAC bid on the MDHHS Specialty Behavioral Health Services RFP?
The answer is simple. Without knowing who was going to bid on the MDHHS RFP and who the department might select, MAC’s Board of Directors decided to submit a bid to offer a collaborative option based on local control and maintain as much of the current system as possible within the MDHHS RFP criteria. MAC still opposes the direction the department has taken in putting the system out to bid and has asked for the RFP to be pulled back.
MAC did this through the creation of the MAC Behavioral Health Network (MACBHN), a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose board will meet the MDHHS RFP criteria and be made up of regional representatives, individuals with lived experience, including one family member of a child with lived experience, and at-large representatives from any Michigan county.
MAC’s statewide footprint — and direct connection to locally elected commissioners — gives MAC a unique ability to ensure that decisions about behavioral health services remain grounded in the needs of the people and counties they affect.
Through MAC’s bid, the system would:
- Maintain local control and accountability
- Promote and support behavioral health services statewide
- Improve access through collaboration across counties, local governments, and providers
- Develop programs that address mental health, substance use, and community wellness
- Provide training, education, and technical assistance
- Advocate for policies and system integration that strengthen behavioral health in Michigan
Michigan’s current PIHP system — built by community mental health service programs (CMHSPs) and Michigan counties—holds decades of knowledge and experience. MAC acknowledges that this expertise is vital and must not be lost.
Losing local financial control would be damaging, but losing institutional knowledge could be devastating for individuals who rely on care. For that reason, MAC intends to honor the intent of state statute (MCL 330.1204b(7)(b)) by ensuring that employees are transferred to the new entity with their rights and benefits protected for one year.
The goal of the MAC bid is not disruption or competition with the current system — but continuity to the extent possible in an environment where MDHHS is signaled change will occur.
If selected, MAC will work with MDHHS and current PIHPs to transition staff, contracts, systems, policies, and procedures.
MAC bid on all three regions described in the RFP because it aligns with MAC’s current values to represent ALL Michigan counties. Also, a single statewide contract provides the clearest path for MDHHS’s stated goal to consistency, efficiency, and accountability.
A unified statewide structure would allow for managing financial risk across all regions, reduced administrative duplication, one point of contact with MDHHS, consistent care across county lines and a unified payment system for providers.
Because MAC’s member commissioners are elected by Michigan citizens, our organization is uniquely positioned to receive real-time feedback from every corner of the state. That accountability loop ensures that the behavioral health system remains connected to community needs, not distant decision-makers.
MAC submitted this bid because:
- MDHHS has signaled that change will happen
- Local control matters
- Experience and institutional knowledge must be preserved
- Michigan deserves a consistent, equitable system of care
- Counties and communities should have a voice in behavioral health decisions
- Providers need a simpler, unified administrative system
- Individuals and families deserve seamless access to services wherever they live
MAC’s bid reflects a commitment to honoring Michigan’s history while building a stronger, more efficient, and more equitable behavioral health future.
If selected, MAC’s bid would allow for a collaborative transition that protects what works, work with the county based CMHSPs and MDHHS to fix what doesn’t and keeps Michigan’s behavioral health system rooted where it belongs — in its communities.