November 15, 2022 – Growing financial pressures and dwindling beds have caused Michigan’s healthcare industry to seek a bailout amidst a surge in RSV cases.
John Krasinski, director of communications for the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, told Crain’s Detroit Business that the association is “pursuing unallocated American Rescue Plan Act funds and an allocation from the state general fund to stabilize the industry.”
The state of Michigan is reportedly sitting on $750 million in unallocated ARPA funding and about a $3 billion surplus in the general fund.
According to a press release, the University of Michigan Health at Sparrow Children’s Center is at full capacity in a statewide RSV surge. The release says that Sparrow is seeing a daily average of 60 new cases of RSV, which is nearly doubled from this time last year. Leaders at Sparrow Children’s anticipate even higher volumes entering flu season, as well as a potential spike of COVID cases this winter.