Note: The following column was published by the Lapeer County Press on Saturday, Oct. 10:

Public health dollars should go to public health.

As chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Health and vice chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Medicaid and Behavioral Health, it is critical that taxpayer dollars are being used responsibly to deliver much-needed care and better health outcomes to people across our state.

Unfortunately, a recent report from the nonpartisan Office of the Auditor General illuminated substantial problems with how the Michigan Dept. of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) monitored Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI) agreements — leading to questions on payments totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

MPHI was founded in 1990 with the mission of advancing population health and public health innovation. It is supposed to work with state government, state universities that specialize in research, community-based organizations, healthcare providers, and more while providing services on behalf of MDHHS.

The services, and how they’re verified, are what are under the microscope here. When entities contract with state government and receive tax dollars, there needs to be proper documentation and deliverables. That’s what people in Lapeer, Genesee and Tuscola counties who foot the bill for these programs and those who need them deserve. The audit found repeated instances where MDHHS could not document information it reviewed when approving project budgets, financial reports and work plans. Nearly 70% of the financial status reports reviewed lacked supporting cost documentation and the department paid approximately $108 million before receiving or reviewing documentation validating project work.

MPHI affiliate staff and MDHHS employees previously employed by MPHI approved nearly half of the financial status reports reviewed for payment, representing approximately $199 million in payments to the organization. MDHHS also improperly approved certain indirect costs at a higher reimbursement rate than authorized and issued payments for things that did not directly benefit public health in Michigan. In one instance, a law firm in Los Angeles received $20 million. Not having a record of what specifically was being provided through that contract is a massive red flag.

This excessive and egregious spending, combined with a lack of transparency, goes against public health initiatives I have fought for in the Legislature. I have led on ensuring that tobacco settlement dollars taken in by the state each year are actually going to address the health effects of smoking, and I helped secure language in this year’s budget that keeps these dollars in the fund and from going to other non-health items.

I also supported language in the budget that fixes elements of the Rural Health Transformation application process to protect rural health care and get resources to where they are most needed.

This audit raised serious concerns about accountability and the state’s management of taxpayer resources. Oversight procedures designed to protect taxpayers and public health were not being followed, and more robust review and reporting procedures are needed. We must ensure Michigan tax dollars are being used to improve Michigan health instead of being shunted to bloated departments and political allies.