Michigan's top health official is on her way out. Elizabeth Hertel, who has steered the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services for the past five years, is stepping down, according to state officials and reports out of Lansing. Her term covered some of the state’s heaviest lifts in recent memory, including Medicaid administration, child-welfare reforms and pandemic-era public health programs, and her exit hands day-to-day control to veteran deputies while state leaders work out a longer-term plan.
As reported by Crain's Detroit, Hertel is leaving after a five-year run and senior deputy Amy Epkey has been tapped as acting director. The piece by David Eggert said the announcement came Monday and that department leadership will begin an internal transition. Crain's reported that no timetable has been released for naming a permanent successor.
Hertel's record and priorities
Hertel was appointed director in 2021 and oversaw an agency of roughly 16,000 employees, according to her official biography on Michigan.gov. Under her watch, the department’s FY26 budget called out major investments in Medicaid, substance use services and Family Impact Teams, priorities that were highlighted in a statement from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Those line items became signature initiatives that Hertel and her team repeatedly pointed to as evidence of where they wanted the system to go.
Scrutiny from lawmakers
Even as those programs expanded, Hertel’s leadership drew sharp scrutiny at the Capitol. Lawmakers grilled her during a September 2025 House Oversight hearing about child-welfare cases in which children remained in unsafe situations and whether a department of MDHHS’s size was simply too unwieldy to police, according to coverage from WEMU. The tense back-and-forth underscored the ongoing friction between the department and the Legislature, even as MDHHS pointed to areas it said were improving.
Who will fill in
For now, the reins pass to Amy Epkey, identified by state officials in testimony as the senior deputy for financial operations and now set to serve as acting director, according to House committee records. Epkey has frequently appeared alongside Hertel in budget briefings and has overseen the department’s financial operations, per the Michigan House Fiscal Agency minutes. That background is expected to lend some stability as the agency navigates the leadership change.
Crain's did not report any timeline for a permanent appointment, and state officials had not released further details at the time of publication. Advocates and lawmakers focused on Medicaid, child welfare and behavioral health say they are watching closely to see how the administration manages the transition at a department that touches millions of residents. This story will be updated as additional information is released by state officials.
