On June 24, 2026, the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) co-hosted a Lunch and Learn session – Investing in Primary Care in Michigan – to provide legislators and their staff with key information on this topic. Our partners in this effort were the Milbank Memorial Fund, Michigan Multipayer Initiatives, University of Michigan School of Public Health, and Representatives John Longjohn (D-Portage) and Doug Wozniak (R-Shelby Township).
The session brought together health care leaders, policy experts, and legislators to examine opportunities to strengthen Michigan’s primary care landscape and the health of Michigan citizens. The message was clear, invest in primary care to prevent and manage chronic care, improve outcomes, and lower total health care costs. One of the main goals of the session was to rally legislators and other health care partners to work collectively to advance strategies that increase and support timely access to comprehensive and team-based primary care.
The session’s keynote speaker, Diana Bianco, JD, founder and principal of Artemis Consulting and a primary care consultant from the Milbank Memorial Fund, shared data supporting primary care as the front door to the healthcare system and the foundation for prevention, chronic disease management and better long-term health outcomes. She pointed out that spending on primary care in Michigan is consistently low, between five to six percent of the total healthcare expenditure, and access to primary care is worsening. Attendees also heard about efforts adopted and underway in other states to implement primary care spending goals or targets.
Ms. Bianco’s presentation was followed by a panel discussion focused on ways in which Michigan can lead in strengthening primary care, making Michigan an attractive place to practice medicine, and most importantly, ensuring its residents that they will have access to comprehensive, quality, and timely health care. The panel included Diane Marriott, DrPH, Director of the Michigan Multipayer Initiative, Dennis Ramus, MD, FAAFP, Chair of the MSMS Subcommittee on Michigan’s Physician Workforce Needs, and Anand Parekh, MD, MPH, FACP, Chief Health Policy Officer at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and Senior Advisor at the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.
Ms. Marriott shared that Michigan has previous experience with increasing payment for primary care through a previously concluded demonstration project (Michigan Primary Care Transformation Project) that was successful in demonstrating a positive return on investment. Doctor Ramus relayed his experience as a private practice physician and Physician Organization leader to advocate that appropriately-funded care teams can increase the capacity to serve patients. Additionally, he provided an overview of the 14 recommendations in the MSMS report, Strengthening Health Care Delivery in Michigan: Physician Workforce Recommendations. Doctor Parekh provided concluding remarks that stressed the urgency of joining together to reverse Michigan’s primary care crisis by advancing solutions to ensure Michigan has a robust primary care workforce and healthy residents and communities.
For questions, please contact Dara Barrera, dbarrera@msms.org, or Stacey Hettiger, shettiger@msms.org