An all-star zoom tribute to Marianne Udow-Phillips, former director of human services for the state of Michigan and founding executive director of CHRT
To commemorate Marianne’s retirement from the executive director role, and to pay tribute to her many contributions to health across the state and nation, we’ve prepared a special zoom tribute with an all-star cast of colleagues, partners, and friends.

Marianne Udow-Phillips served as director of Michigan’s Department of Human Services during Jennifer Granholm’s Administration and as a senior executive at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for over 20 years before becoming the founding executive director of CHRT in 2007.

Marianne will continue to serve as an advisor to CHRT after she retires from the executive director role at the end of December.
Rate Analysis: CHRT's 2021 ACA Health Insurance Marketplace analysis for Michigan

In 2021, monthly ACA health insurance premiums for Michigan’s lowest cost plans on the federal Health Insurance Marketplace decreased, on average. These decreases occurred despite the many uncertainties associated with COVID-19. 2021 ACA Health Insurance Marketplace plan options were robust for communities across Michigan. In many counties, rates declined considerably. These 2021 Marketplace changes are favorable for consumers overall. However, rates have increased in other counties and regions. CHRT sent its analysis, including changes in premiums by county, to regional papers and health departments one week before the close of open enrollment.
Learn how states are combatting social isolation and loneliness during the pandemic

Forty percent of adults with a debilitating disability or chronic condition report feelings of loneliness or being socially isolated. The health risks of social isolation are equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and seniors who report feeling lonely or socially isolated have a 45 percent greater risk of mortality. COVID-19 has only exacerbated these concerns–particularly for adults with disability. Social distancing guideliness have increased social isolation and loneliness for many adults with disabilities, as their caregivers and family members have been unable to visit. Explore some of the ways states across the U.S. are fighting back against social isolation and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michigan health and mental health providers need more training, support to serve aging veterans

Only 6.7 percent of Michigan health care and mental health providers are fully prepared to serve Michigan’s aging veteran population according to a new CHRT analysis, funded by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. This finding is based on CHRT’s statewide assessment of the readiness and capacity of Michigan health care providers to serve older veterans. The researchers found that only about one in five (19 percent) of the health and mental health providers surveyed reported formal training in military culture or the specific health needs of veterans. About half of the providers surveyed (49 percent) reported that they would be interested in receiving this training. Roughly one-third (32 percent) indicated no such interest.
CHRT in the news
Since our last e-newsletter, CHRT has fielded more than two-dozen media requests about a broad range of topics. 

This quarter our work was highlighted in Bridge Michigan, Crain’s Detroit Business, the Detroit Free Press, the Marquette Mining Journal, Michigan Radio, mlive, The New York Times, Skilled Nursing News, U.S. News & World Report, the Washington Post, and WDET. 

Below, you’ll find a sampling of stories, including radio interviews with Stephen Henderson of WDET and April Baer of Michigan Radio. 

  • Riba and Adams op-ed: Four ways Michigan health and mental health care providers can prepare to serve aging veterans, Lansing State Journal, December 15, 2020 Read more

  • Cadillac News shares CHRT’s marketplace insurance rate analysis findings with residents of Wexford, Missaukee, Lake, and Osceola counties by Karen Hopper Usher, Cadillac News, December 12, 2020 Read more

  • The Morning Sun shares CHRT’s Marketplace insurance rates analysis with Clare, Gratiot, and Isabella County readers by Greg Nelson, The Morning Sun, December 11, 2020 Read more

  • Marianne Udow-Phillips writes about the importance of maintaining access to clean water during the COVID-19 pandemic by Marianne Udow-Phillips, Bridge Magazine, November 25, 2020 Read more

  • Will Biden de-politicize COVID? by Dennis Thompson, U.S. News & World Report, November 19, 2020 Read more

  • Obamacare case before Supreme Court today has huge implications for Michigan residents, experts say, by Julie Mack, Mlive, November 10, 2020 Read more

  • Stateside: ACA challenge at US Supreme Court; auto industry's electric future; MI's exit polls, Michigan Radio, November 10, 2020 Read more

  • If elected, Joe Biden has big plans for health care, by Dennis Thompson, U.S. News & World Report, November 7, 2020, CHRT: In the media Read more

  • In 2020, health care is top of mind for most voters by Stephen Henderson, WDET Detroit Today October 29, 2020 Read more

  • Retiring Michigan health care expert: We would not have predicted COVID-19 response, by JC Reindl, Detroit Free Press, October 24, 2020 Read more

  • The ACA turns 10 and faces a pandemic, an election and a Supreme Court case, by Kara Gavin, University of Michigan Institute of Healthcare Policy and Innovation, October 19, 2020 Read more

  • Proactivity and partnership pay off for nursing homes in a pandemic, study suggests, Michigan Medicine, Newswise, October 12, 2020 Read more

  • Why so many died of Covid in nursing homes, a letter to the editor by Marianne Udow-Phillips, The New York Times, September 16, 2020 Read more

  • Fear of citations, fines stopping nursing homes from reopening to visitors: Report, by Maggie Flynn, Skilled Nursing News, September 11, 2020 Read more

  • Longtime director of health care research center to retire; replacement named, by Jay Greene, Crain's Detroit Business, September 10, 2020 Read more
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