Helping Michigan Families Navigate Health, Safety & Transportation
An independent civic resource organizing public health, safety, and transportation data for all Michigan residents — regardless of income, insurance status, or background.
PROBLEM
Michigan's public data is scattered across 12+ agency websites
SOLUTION
One platform. 40+ sources. Structured for action.
MISSION
Make civic intelligence accessible to every Michigander
Closing Michigan's Access Gaps Through Better Information
Access Michigan exists to make it easier for people and organizations to see where systems are working—and where they're failing—at the ZIP and county level.
Our goals are simple but ambitious: help more residents understand and use their benefits, reduce preventable harm from outages and housing instability, and give communities better leverage in conversations with hospitals, plans, utilities, and government.
As partners use this tool in CHNAs, community benefit plans, value-based care programs, and regulatory work, we will publish measured impact (not guesses) and explain exactly how we calculated it.
If your organization is using Access Michigan in your work and you're open to sharing results, we'd love to document that impact together.
Safety-Net Clinic Visibility: Before → After Platform
Before (Traditional Search)
After (Equity-Adjusted Algorithm)
Illustrative example of the platform's SVI-weighted ranking algorithm. Modeled from CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index methodology. Not a measured platform outcome.
Our Mission
Access Michigan exists to help Michigan residents navigate healthcare, energy, transportation, safety, and public services — finding quality resources, accessing financial assistance, and making informed decisions. We believe everyone deserves access to trustworthy information, regardless of income, insurance status, or background.
Independent & Objective
No advertising, no paid placements. Rankings based on publicly available, third-party quality data.
Resident-First
Every design decision optimizes for the person seeking care — not for health systems or insurers.
Transparent & Verifiable
All data sources cited. Methodology published. Rankings explainable and reproducible.
How We Rank Healthcare Providers
Transparent methodology — no hidden criteria
Search results are ranked by a composite score across four dimensions: distance, CMS quality rating, service breadth, and digital access. The best-performing providers rank first — not because they paid us, but because they score higher on public metrics.
Distance from You
Closer care is more accessible care. We prioritize healthcare near your location because geographic proximity directly impacts whether residents seek and maintain care.
Quality & Safety Scores
Independent ratings from Leapfrog (hospital safety), CMS (clinical quality), Blue Distinction Centers (specialty excellence), and ANCC Magnet Recognition (nursing quality). Higher objective ratings rank higher.
Digital Access
Online scheduling, patient portal, telehealth, electronic records, and prescription refills. Digital access reduces barriers, especially for working families and rural residents.
Service Comprehensiveness
Breadth of specialties, integrated support services (behavioral health, social work, nutrition), and on-site ancillary services. Comprehensive facilities reduce care fragmentation.
User Control
You can always re-sort by distance only, insurance accepted, quality score, or other dimensions. Safety-net options (FQHCs, community health centers, public hospitals) are never filtered out by default and receive dedicated callouts like "No one turned away" and "Sliding scale fees available."
Transparent Choice Architecture
How we guide without bias
Distance-First, Quality-Enhanced
Default sort is distance. When facilities are similarly close (within 2 miles), higher quality scores break the tie — nudging toward safer, more comprehensive options naturally.
Visual Quality Cues
Badges (🏆 Magnet, ⭐ Leapfrog A, 💙 Blue Distinction) highlight objectively accredited facilities. Labels like 'Most comprehensive nearby' appear only when data supports them.
Safety-Net Visibility
FQHCs and community health centers always appear with prominent 'Recommended affordable option' and 'No one turned away' callouts. They are never suppressed by quality filters.
Condition-Specific Pathways
When searching for a specific condition, results default to showing programs with integrated specialty quality, support services (social work, behavioral health, nutrition), and accessible locations.
Full User Control
Users can always re-sort, change filters, and explore all options. Ranking criteria are explained here and linked from every search results page.
Community Benefit & Health Equity
Addressing social determinants of health
Social Determinants Integration
Food, housing, transportation, and financial assistance navigation integrated alongside clinical care — not as afterthought, but as core infrastructure.
Health Equity Focus
HPSA overlay maps, Social Vulnerability Index data, and health equity metrics highlight communities needing the most support.
Culturally Appropriate
Language service indicators, cultural competency data, and multilingual resource guides for Michigan's diverse populations.
Financial Navigation
Charity care programs, Medicaid enrollment, prescription assistance, and sliding-scale services surfaced for every facility.
Health Literacy
All content written at 8th-grade reading level. Plain-language explanations of complex medical and insurance topics.
Vulnerable Populations
Dedicated pathways for uninsured, low-income, elderly, pediatric, and disability populations with tailored resource guides.
Data Sources
All data publicly available and independently verifiable
Technology & Scalability
Built for growth and sustainability
Modern Stack
React 18, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Framer Motion. Production-grade architecture with code splitting, lazy loading, and optimized bundling.
Data Pipeline
Database-backed with structured APIs. Designed for automated data updates from CMS, HRSA, CDC, and state feeds; refresh cadence varies by source.
Michigan-Wide, Expandable
Currently covers all 83 Michigan counties. Architecture supports expansion to additional states with minimal modification.
Accessible & Performant
WCAG 2.1 AA compliant. Mobile-first responsive design. Lazy-loaded maps and images. Optimized for performance; actual load times vary by device and connection.
Platform Update Log
- •Added HRSA health center proxy for live Federally Qualified Health Center data
- •Added CDC PLACES & Chronic Disease Indicator proxy for county-level health metrics
- •All API proxies include fallback error messages and 1-hour caching
- •Created /embed route with lightweight, iframe-ready quick-search widget
- •Counties and organizations can embed Access Michigan search on their own sites
- •Widget adapts to container size with responsive design
- •Partnership submission form with moderation queue (Supabase-backed)
- •English/Spanish language toggle across all pages
- •High-contrast accessibility mode with localStorage persistence
- •Crisis bar with 988 and 2-1-1 quick access
- •Interactive health map with Leaflet.js and facility markers
- •Find Care directory with filters, comparison, and provider search
- •Financial Help hub with FPL eligibility screener
- •Health Data Dashboard with Recharts visualizations
- •Cost Transparency tool with procedure and Rx price comparison
- •Transportation resources with safety data and charts
- •Environment dashboard with AQI, water quality, and energy data
- •CMS Open Data proxy edge function for hospital data
- •Access Michigan branding and Michigan-themed design system
- •Responsive layout with Tailwind CSS semantic tokens
- •SEO meta tags, JSON-LD structured data, Open Graph
- •Supabase backend with RLS-protected public data tables
- •Rate-limited query edge function for abuse prevention
Limitations & Disclaimers
This platform is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult healthcare providers for medical decisions.
Not all facilities and providers in Michigan are listed. Coverage is expanding continuously.
Data has inherent time lag from source agencies. Quality metrics may be 3–12 months behind current performance.
Data is sourced from public APIs including CMS, CDC PLACES, HRSA, and Michigan EGLE. Some metrics may have a 3–12 month lag from source agencies.
We are not liable for inaccuracies. Use information as a starting point and verify with providers directly.
Public Benefit Commitment
Access Michigan is a nonpartisan, non-commercial civic platform. We do not advocate for political positions, sell access to public services, or monetize resident interactions. Our sole purpose is to improve how Michigan residents, caregivers, and communities find and understand the services available to them.
Access Michigan complements — but does not replace — government services, 2-1-1, or direct service providers. We organize publicly available data into an accessible, navigable format so residents can make informed decisions and institutions can better understand the communities they serve.
Inspired by civic technology research and built using open civic data principles, this platform is maintained independently and funded without commercial obligations. Future sustainability will prioritize public benefit over commercial interests.
Optional Personalization
Access Michigan offers an optional "My Settings" feature (the gear icon in the header) where you can set your ZIP code, coverage type, and other preferences. This information is stored only in your browser's local storage on your device — it is never sent to our servers. You can clear it at any time from the same panel.
In the future, we may offer an optional, paid Access Michigan Pro lane where you can securely sign in, save your profile, and connect your health plan's Patient Access API. That will always be opt-in, separate from the free tools, and designed with strict privacy and security safeguards. No timeline has been set for this feature.
How we keep this honest
- No ads, no tracking, no pay-to-play listings.
- If we don't have data for a ZIP or topic, we say so instead of guessing.
- Every number is either from a named public dataset or a clearly labeled modeled index, with methods in one place.
- When we find mistakes or better methods, we fix them and update this page.
We invite researchers, journalists, and community partners to audit our methods and tell us what they see.
Collaborate With Access Michigan
Nonprofits, researchers, civic groups, and public agencies are invited to explore how Access Michigan can support their work — whether through data sharing, community feedback, or joint navigation improvements. We welcome informal advisors, domain experts, and community leaders who share our commitment to equitable access.
Interested in contributing or learning more? Get in touch →
Platform Transparency
Real-time health indicators for this platform. Last audit: March 2026
Data Freshness
Most data updated within 30 days
Uptime
99.8% (30-day)
Open Source
GitHub repository
Funding Model
Self-funded portfolio project
Advertiser Conflicts
Zero advertiser relationships
Data Sold
Never — no PII collected
Errors Reported
0 open | 2 resolved this month