Action Alert: Michigan Voters Overwhelmingly Oppose Privatizing Public Mental Health Services
As you may know, CMHA recently commissioned an independent statewide poll of likely November 2026 voters to better understand public opinion regarding proposals to privatize Michigan's public behavioral health system. The results were clear and overwhelmingly demonstrate that Michigan voters do not support turning the state's public mental health system over to private health insurance companies.
Key findings include:
70% of likely November 2026 voters oppose shifting the management of Medicaid mental health services to private health insurance companies, while only 19% support the proposal.
Opposition has grown from 64% in 2022 to 70% today, demonstrating increasing concern as voters learn more about privatization.
69% oppose ending local control and local accountability of Michigan's public mental health system.
58% strongly oppose privatization, compared to just 8% who strongly support it.
Nearly half of voters (49%) say they would be less likely to support a candidate who favors privatizing Michigan's public mental health system, while only 11% say they would be more likely.
The timing of these findings is especially important. MDHHS recently posted on the State of Michigan procurement website that it intends to release a new Prepaid Inpatient Health Plan (PIHP) Request for Proposals (RFP) in August. This indicates the department may move forward with another effort to restructure Michigan's public behavioral health system.
REQUEST FOR ACTION: We ask that you contact your House and Senate members, as well as Governor Whitmer, to express your concerns about issuing another PIHP RFP during the final months of the current administration. It is also important to remind policymakers that Michigan voters overwhelmingly oppose privatizing the public behavioral health system and continue to support a locally accountable, publicly governed system rather than turning it over to private insurance companies.