"The right to criticize government is also an obligation to know what you are talking about."

-Lent Upson, first director of Citizens Research Council

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November 20, 2025

Social Determinants of Health: Pathways to a Healthier Michigan

Improving the health of Michigan’s residents will set the state up for long-term growth and success. While this is not an easy task, the solutions fortunately overlap with other shared goals. The key to making the population healthier is a better education system and a more robust, fairer economy. The precise policies that take the state from here to there are up for debate, but the pathways it needs to follow to connect public policy to health outcomes are clear.

IN A NUTSHELL

-- Michigan is not as healthy as it could be, and policymakers should be invested in making changes that work toward a healthier population. This is an issue worthy of government attention because governments have a basic duty to promote the well-being of the public and they are invested in economic vitality. This interest also creates an incentive to avoid lost production and excessive private health care expenditures that can result from an unhealthy population. Finally, the health of the population directly impacts many other government goals that span virtually every policy area.

-- Two broad themes emerge from the data presented: the interconnectedness of the social determinants of health and the centrality of financial resources in the story of Michigan residents’ lagging health outcomes. In every area of public policy, there is a nexus to health and well-being. When reviewing the ways in which social determinants of health intersect, the pathways can be traced back to whether an individual has the financial resources to obtain them, either directly or indirectly.

-- No magic solution or set of solutions exists to improve the financial resources of Michigan’s residents, but wide-ranging ideas exist across the political spectrum. Any sustained progress on this front will be the product of tradeoffs and deliberation from many stakeholders who recognize the connection between improving financial resources and health outcomes in the state.

Full Report

Summary

Other Recent Council Reports:

Outline of the Michigan Tax System - 39th edition
Unpacking the FY2026 State Budget: Six Things You Should Know
Evaluating Local-Option Admission Taxes in Michigan Cities

Council Research Reports

Webinar to Discuss the Findings of the Report
Join Us: Dec. 3 at 11 a.m.

Please join us on Wednesday, December 3, to discuss the findings of the new Social Determinants of Health report. No single solution exists to improve Michigan’s residents' financial resources, but there are wide-ranging ideas across the political spectrum. Any sustained progress on this front will be the product of tradeoffs and deliberation from many stakeholders who recognize the connection between improving financial resources and health outcomes in the state.

Guy sits down with Karley Abramson, research associate for health policy and author of the most recent Council Report, Social Determinants of Health: Pathways to a Healthier Michigan, which drills down to root causes of why Michiganders suffer from worse health outcomes than residents in similar, neighboring states and even across the U.S. and the globe. They also touch on what can be done about it.

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Catch up on more #FactsMatter podcasts:

-- Michigan's Budget Breakdown Part II: A Research Council Roundtable

-- Michigan's Budget Breakdown Part I

-- Healthcare Premiums Expected to Jump 70% without renewal of tax credits

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