Take action to preserve MC3's funding

September 4, 2025

Last week, Michigan’s House of Representatives passed its proposed budget for FY 2026, making drastic cuts to many key maternal and child health line items, including cutting the entire budget for Michigan Clinical Consultation & Care (MC3). This is one of many steps in our state’s annual budget process. Negotiations will now begin among the House, Senate, and Governor until a final budget is adopted, ideally before the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, 2025.

This is a critical moment to advocate for the continued funding of MC3. Here’s how you can help:

Send a letter and/or make a phone call to your state legislators, urging their continued support of this essential program. We have included a template and sample talking points below, as well as one-page impact infographic available for download. Please be sure to emphasize how you use this program and how you and your patients have benefited. We also encourage you to use the same social media text and graphic found at the bottom of this page.

Use these links to find the contact information for your legislators:

TEMPLATE letter or email with sample talking points:

To: State Senator and State Representative

I am a [insert type: e.g., primary care physician] in [insert city name]. I learned this week that funding for the Michigan Clinical Consultation & Care (MC3) program has been fully eliminated in the FY 2026 budget proposed by the House of Representatives. I am writing today to ask for your support in advocating for the continued funding of this program.

MC3 offers psychiatry support at no cost to primary care providers (PCPs) in Michigan who are managing patients with behavioral health problems. This includes children, adolescents, young adults through age 26, and women who are contemplating pregnancy, pregnant, or postpartum (up to one year) in every county in Michigan. MC3 provides a mental health lifeline to this vulnerable patient population, as the majority of Michigan counties have no child or perinatal psychiatrists.

MC3 provides PCPs serving perinatal women, children, and adolescents statewide with:

guidance on diagnostic questions,
evidence-based treatment recommendations through on-demand same-day consultation,
education on suicide prevention and many other behavioral health topics,
and referral to highly specialized, regional behavioral health consultants who can provide patients with resources and referrals in their community.

Key Outcomes and Highlights

Statewide Reach and Provider Accessibility: MC3 is available for same-day consultation in all 83 Michigan counties and 46 Community Health Services Program regions, supporting primary care providers who serve pediatric patients aged 0-26 and perinatal patients (including those contemplating pregnancy, pregnant, and postpartum).
Rural and Under-Resourced Regions: The program significantly enhances behavioral health resources and provider capacity in rural and under-resourced regions.
Patient Impact: In 2024, MC3 supported PCPs in their treatment of thousands of patients/families, facilitating timely and effective behavioral health interventions.
Provider Impact: MC3 enhances primary care providers’ confidence and skills in diagnosing and managing behavioral health conditions, allowing for more comprehensive in-practice patient care.
Outcomes: Patients of MC3-participating providers receive quicker treatment for depression and anxiety, with timely medication, follow-up, and therapy initiation. The service reduces the need for specialist referrals and costly emergency room visits.

[INSERT A STATEMENT ABOUT HOW YOU USE MC3 SERVICES and HOW YOUR PATIENTS HAVE BENEFITTED. LOCALIZE THIS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE & STRESS THAT YOU ARE A CONSTITUENT AND YOU SERVE THEIR CONSTITUENTS.]

Talking points you may choose to include:

Primary Care Providers (PCPs) like pediatricians and OB/GYNs are providing mental health care to women and children despite a lack of specialized training, as there are no other options for these patients to get this crucial care. PCPs routinely report distress in caring for illnesses far outside their training comfort zone, and PCP satisfaction with the program is universally high.
50% of children with mental health concerns are supported by PCPs.
1 in 7 women cared for by perinatal providers suffer from depression or anxiety. Perinatal depression is under-recognized and undertreated, and obstetrical care is ideal for supporting parents in getting needed and effective mental health care.
The far-reaching consequences of untreated mental illness are costly both personally and financially, including school drop-out, job loss, incarceration, involvement in the criminal justice system, substance use disorders, and chronic health conditions. Untreated mental illness frequently necessitates higher levels of care.
Untreated depression and other mental health disorders predispose individuals to suicide, which is the second most common cause of death among adolescents and one of the primary causes of maternal mortality in our state. Emergency rooms across the state of Michigan are currently filled with women and children who are unable to access critical life-saving mental health care.
The program prevents emergency room visits and hospitalizations across the state. It has also served as a “bridge” for PCPs after their patients are released from the hospital and sometimes have to wait for months to see a psychiatrist in a distant area.

Thank you in advance for your support of MC3.

If you are willing to be contacted by your legislator, you can include the following sentence before your signature: Feel free to contact me at [INSERT EMAIL ADDRESS] and [PHONE NUMBER] if you need additional information.

Sincerely,

[Signature]

TEMPLATE social media post:

🚨 Important: Take action to preserve MC3’s funding

MC3 helps every Michigan community build capacity to address mental health problems. Established in 2012, the Michigan Clinical Consultation & Care (MC3) program offers psychiatry support, resources, and education to primary care providers in over 1,000 clinics in Michigan who treat pediatric and perinatal patients with behavioral health problems.

MC3 reduces the need for emergency department visits. 94% of prescribers enrolled in MC3 agreed that psychiatric consultation reduced immediate need for higher levels of patient care and cost, such as emergency department visits.

MC3 increases provider confidence in treating mental health concerns. 98% of prescribers enrolled in MC3 agreed that psychiatric consultation increased their confidence in treating their patients’ behavioral health problems.

MC3 saves lives. Contact your legislators today to help save MC3!

Find your State Senator: https://lnkd.in/gn7tcHWf
Find your State Representative: https://lnkd.in/g98itV_N

Michigan’s most vulnerable are counting on us. Please share!