The HAVI Applauds Michigan Legislature’s Passage of Bill to Cover Violence Prevention Services Under Medicaid

December 20, 2024 — Today the Michigan Senate voted to pass legislation that authorizes Medicaid funding for community violence intervention (CVI) services across the state. These evidence-based programs play a foundational role in addressing the root causes of gun violence and supporting victims of violence and their communities. The bill — HB6046 — was passed by the Michigan House earlier this month and will now be sent to the Governor to be signed into law.

The Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (HAVI) — an organization that fosters a nationwide network of hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) — is proud to have worked alongside a broad coalition of groups to develop and secure passage of this bill. Once signed into law, the legislation will make Michigan the ninth state in the nation — alongside California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, and Oregon — to ensure its Medicaid program serves as a sustainable funding source for violence intervention programs. The HAVI thanks Michigan State Representative Christine Morse for her leadership on this important legislation.

In response to the bill’s passage today, the HAVI issued the following statement from Executive Director Fatimah Loren Dreier: 

“We applaud the Michigan Legislature for prioritizing the passage of this critical legislation, which will provide a stable, long-term source of funding to support and sustain the state’s hospital-based violence intervention programs and other evidence-based strategies within the community violence intervention ecosystem,” said Fatimah Loren Dreier, Executive Director of the HAVI. “By creating a violence prevention benefit within the state’s Medicaid program, this legislation will support the creation of a robust public health funding infrastructure to combat violence through proven approaches and ensure the well-being of the most impacted communities across Michigan.”

Championed by the HAVI for nearly 15 years, HVIPs provide services and support to individuals at the highest risk of violence in the most impacted communities, which are often communities of color that have endured long standing disinvestment.

The HAVI has been the driving force behind a growing movement to use Medicaid as a key source of funding for CVI strategies, including HVIPs. In 2015, the HAVI secured recognition by the National Uniform Claim Committee for a new type of health care provider for violence intervention—the violence prevention professional (VPP)—which created a pathway for VPPs to obtain reimbursement through traditional medical financing systems, including Medicaid. In 2021, through the HAVI’s advocacy, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services clarified that states can use Medicaid to reimburse HVIP and other CVI services.

Visit the HAVI’s State Medicaid Resource Technical Hub (CVI SMART Hub) to learn more about the current status of Medicaid funding for violence prevention efforts nationwide, including how states have added VPP services to their existing Medicaid benefits packages as well as details on patient eligibility, reimbursement rates, and more.