State Rep. David Martin and the Michigan Legislature this week approved a plan that will expand access to COVID treatments like monoclonal antibodies, ease worker shortages in the health care system and keep schools open for in-person learning.

The $1.2 billion supplemental budget plan is funded entirely by federal COVID relief dollars allocated to the state. It received bipartisan support in both the House and Senate and will soon advance to the governor’s desk.

“Local families, schools and hospitals continue to face challenges because of the latest COVID surge,” Martin said. “Getting these resources out into our communities will improve access to life-saving treatments, relieve the strain on doctors and nurses in our hospitals and help keep kids in school.”

Highlights of the plan include:

Early treatment in COVID cases: Treatments such as monoclonal antibodies often help lessen the severity of COVID cases and allow patients to recover more quickly. Studies suggest the drugs can reduce the risk of hospitalization or death for COVID patients by up to 85 percent. Currently, delivery is bottlenecked at short-staffed hospitals – the House plan will expand delivery to eight additional treatment and testing sites across Michigan. It invests $175 million in buying and expanding delivery of the potential lifesaving drugs – and other medicines such as COVID treatment pills. Priority must be given to high-risk individuals, and treatments must be offered free of charge.

Easing the health care worker shortage: With thousands of unfilled health care positions across the state, those still on the job are stretched too thin and need reinforcements. The House plan provides about $300 million for health care employee recruitment and retention and $114 million in additional support for nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

Keeping students in school and protecting residents: An additional $150 million is provided for COVID testing, including funding for schools to buy COVID testing kits directly and allow the state to stockpile additional tests for schools. This is in addition to the roughly $6 billion that the Legislature has previously appropriated for schools to address the pandemic.

About $367 million is provided for outreach, testing and other efforts in Michigan communities, and additional support is offered for community services such as homeless shelters, child welfare and respite care.

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