Gretchen Whitmer getting in on the fraud. Designating metro areas rural to get funds.

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House Republicans on Thursday slammed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Department of Health and Human Services over designations for Oakland and Wayne counties that could unlock federal healthcare funding meant for rural communities.

The issue came to light in the House Appropriations Committee during a presentation from DHHS Senior Deputy Director Beth Nagel on Wednesday that depicted the metro-area counties as “partially rural,” which allows the department to distribute funds from the federal Rural Health Transformation program.

“If you Google the definition of ‘rural,’ it describes low population density, open land, and agriculture,” state Rep. Jennifer Wortz, R–Quincy, said in a statement. “Apparently, Director Elizabeth Hertel hasn’t bothered to check. Declaring Michigan’s two largest counties ‘partially rural’ so they can access funding intended for communities like mine is completely insane. It begs the question of what backroom deals were made with large urban hospitals to push this policy through.”

Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, shared the same perspective, describing the designations as “an insult to rural Michigan.”

“When Lansing talks about being ‘inclusive,’ too often it means Northern communities get left behind,” he said in a statement. “For DHHS to suggest that Wayne County deserves rural funding an insult to everyone who lives North of Clare. Southeast Michigan has never seen a dollar it didn’t want to siphon off.

“Wayne County has a population of more than a million people, multiple universities, nationally recognized hospitals, and an army of grant writers,” Cavitt added. “Alcona County has about 10,000 residents and one high school. We simply can’t compete on those terms.”

Cavitt noted the program created by President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill is designed to provide healthcare relief to rural communities, with states sharing $10 billion in grants annually.

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