McKinsey & Company - COVID-19 models, reports and emails, 2020

Dear Mrs. Miller,

Thank you for your interest in public records of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (hereinafter “Department”).
Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

1. All reports about COVID-19 prepared by the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company that were provided to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) between the dates of 3/1/2020 and 5/1/2020.

2. All emails originating from an email address ending in " @mckinsey.com " sent to any of the following individuals between the dates of 3/1/2020 and 5/1/2020:
- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: WhitmerG1@michigan.gov (or any other known email account belonging to Ms. Whitmer);
- Mark Totten: TottenM1@michigan.gov (or any other known email account belonging to Mr. Totten);
- Elizabeth Hertel: HertelE@michigan.gov (or any other known email account belonging to Ms. Hertel);
- Robert Gordon: GordonR3@michigan.gov (or any other known email account belonging to Mr. Gordon);
- Dr. Jenny Atas: jatasmd@icloud.com (or any other known email account belonging to Dr. Atas);
- Dana Nessel: dananessel@gmail.com, miag@michigan.gov (or any other known email account belonging to Ms. Nessel);
- Tricia Foster: FosterT13@michigan.gov (or any other known email account belonging to Ms. Foster);
- Joanna Huls: HulsJ1@michigan.gov (or any other known email account belonging to Ms. Huls).

Please make sure to include any attachments to those emails.

If it is not possible for your agency to conduct a search for emails originating from a specific domain, such as @mckinsey.com, please let me know and I can provide you with a specific list of McKinsey email addresses to search for instead.

In a recently completed FOIA request returned on 06/28/2022 by MDHHS (public records reference # H014602-021922), MDHHS provided me with a set of emails related to the construction of the TCF Regional Care Center, a field hospital that was constructed in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Detroit, purportedly to support an anticipated overflow of COVID-19 and other patients from area hospitals. The field hospital was closed roughly three weeks after opening due to a lack of necessity. That request and its resulting records can be viewed here: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/michigan-117/tcf-regional-care-center-emails-20-124958

Among the emails provided to me under that request were a number of messages sent to/between MDHHS and staff/contractors from McKinsey & Company. Those emails contained information about, and references to, COVID-19, including discussions about models and projections related to demand for ICU and medical surge beds.

McKinsey & Co. is a global management consulting firm whose work regarding various government responses to COVID-19, including vaccination efforts, have come under scrutiny recently in the U.S. (https://www.propublica.org/article/how-mckinsey-is-making-100-million-and-counting-advising-on-the-governments-bumbling-coronavirus-response) and in France (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/22/business/france-mckinsey-consultants-covid-vaccine.html). The firm's government contracts were also the subject of a recent public records lawsuit in Tennessee (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tennessee-sued-not-releasing-covid-221610057.html). McKinsey & Co. also recently came under scrutiny in the national press over potential conflicts of interest related to the firm's relationships with pharmaceutical companies and regulators (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/13/business/mckinsey-purdue-fda-records.html).

Based on that background, fully understanding how MDHHS and State officials interacted with McKinsey & Co. when developing Michigan's COVID-19 response, including the information and advice that was provided to MDHHS and State officials by McKinsey & Co. regarding COVID-19, is of the highest importance to the public. The requested information should be made available to the public with as few redactions as possible, and at the lowest fee possible, as soon as possible.

When providing the records related to this request, please make sure to specifically certify that no other responsive documents related to this request exist.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I am willing to pay up to $25 for the requested information. If the fee for this request exceeds that amount, please notify me for permission prior to initiating work on the request.

I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Please send all documents related to this request to this email address only.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Erin Marie Miller

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Your request has been assigned the following tracking number: H016452-082322. Your request has a legally received date of August 24, 2022. You will receive a response by the Department by August 31, 2022. Unfortunately, we are unable to expedite requests and the time permitted for response by the Department may be extended beyond August 31, 2022 by ten (10) business days.
In accordance with the Michigan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.231 et seq, the Department provides copies of existing non-exempt records. Records which are exempt from disclosure under state or federal law will not be provided, or records may be redacted to separate exempt information. The FOIA does not require the Department to create new records or answer queries.

Regards,
Bureau of Legal Affairs,
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST , Reference # H016452-082322
Dear Mrs. Erin Miller,

This notice is issued in response to your request, legally received by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (Department) on August 24, 2022, requesting information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.231 et seq.

In order to determine what responsive records the Department might have, it is necessary to extend the time for response permitted by MCL 15.235 §5(2)(d) until September 15, 2022.

The Department’s FOIA policies and procedures are available at Policies and Procedures.


Sincerely,

Bureau of Legal Affairs,
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

RE: Public Records Request, Reference # H016452-082322

Dear Mrs. Miller,

This notice is issued in response to your request, legally received by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (Department) on August 24, 2022, requesting information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.231 et seq.

Your request is partially granted and partially denied. Please login to the FOIA Records Center to access the records.

As to the granted portion, the Department has identified and included the responsive information falling within the scope of your request. To the best of the Department’s knowledge, information, and belief, these are all the records in the possession of the Department falling within the scope of your request. There is no fee for the request as these records were paid for by a previous requestor.

As to the denied portion, information of a personal nature, information subject to attorney-client privilege are exempt per MCL 15.243 §13(1)(g). Records of a public body's security measures, including security plans, security codes and combinations, passwords, passes, keys, and security procedures are exempt per MCL 15.243 §13(1)(u). Records of an advisory nature to the extent that they are preliminary to a final determination of policy or action are exempt per MCL 15.243 §13(1)(m); in this particular instance the public interest in encouraging frank communications among employees of the Department or other public bodies clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure, as staff must make informed recommendations unfettered by third party interference in their deliberative process. In developing these recommendations, staff must be able to freely consider, and deliberate as to, the issues prior to final Department policy or action. The public would be ill-served if staff were discouraged or hindered in expressing their opinions and thoughts during the preliminary stages of the deliberative process. The public is entitled to a final determination based on the ultimate decision-maker’s reliance on full, frank, and well-considered discussions. In sum, while the factual parts of the enclosed records have been disclosed, the advisory writings have been redacted to foster candid and frank staff communications, which is an integral part of the Department’s deliberations directly related to its decision-making process.
As to the denial, the Department is obligated to inform you that under MCL 15.240 §10 the following remedies are available:

1. Appeal this decision in writing to the Legal Affairs Administration for the Department of Health and Human Services, PO Box 30195, Lansing, MI 48909. The writing must specifically state the word “appeal” and must identify the reason or reasons you believe the partial denial should be reversed. The Department must respond to your appeal within ten days of its receipt. Under unusual circumstances, the time for response to your appeal may be extended by 10 business days.

2. File an action in the appropriate court within 180 days after the date of the final determination to partially deny the request. If you prevail in such an action, the court is to award reasonable attorney fees, costs, disbursements, and possible damages.

The Department’s FOIA policies and procedures are available at Policies and Procedures.

Sincerely,
Bureau of Legal Affairs