LANSING, Mich., The Republican-led Michigan House voted Thursday to eliminate the state’s requirement that health professionals complete implicit bias training when obtaining or renewing a license, advancing legislation that Democrats say would worsen longstanding racial disparities in health outcomes. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Matt Maddock of the far-right Freedom Caucus, passed 56 to 45 along party lines. It faces uncertain prospects in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Maddock argued the training programs, created through an executive directive following recommendations from the state’s Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, are “divisive” and a waste of time for medical professionals. “None of these people in the health care industry are racist,” he said, insisting the requirement burdens providers rather than improving patient care.
Democratic lawmakers countered that the science on implicit bias is clear and that removing the requirement strips away one of the few tools the state has to address inequities. Rep. Julie Rogers of Kalamazoo, a licensed physical therapist, said the one-hour annual training exposed well-documented gaps in care, noting Michigan’s infant mortality disparities, where babies of color die at roughly three times the rate of white infants. Rep. Kristian Grant of Grand Rapids added that implicit bias intensifies in high-pressure clinical settings, shaping diagnoses and treatment in ways that can be “devastating,” particularly for Black women, who are two to three times more likely to die from childbirth.
Democrats warned that eliminating the requirement “cuts safeguards,” not red tape.
Sources:
Discover more from News Facts Network
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
