The state’s auditor general says Michigan’s Child Protective Services is slow to investigate allegations of child abuse and neglect, but the head of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has fired back, saying the probe is “deceitful and dishonest.”
Robin Erb
Robin Erb covers health care and aging for Bridge Michigan, focusing on a state that is aging faster than most. She has led investigations tracking opioid settlement money and health care worker shortages, and previously spent six years at the Detroit Free Press covering the Affordable Care Act and Michigan's Medicaid expansion. She holds a master's degree from Lourdes University in Toledo.
Robin and her husband raised two children in southeast Michigan — and have failed miserably at training their Beagle-Bassets.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
In Obamacare health coverage, could — and should — Michigan go it alone?
A Democratic-sponsored bill would wrest control of Michigan’s health insurance marketplace from the federal government and put it in the hands of the state. Republican lawmakers are concerned about how much the change would cost.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
1 in 5 Michigan kids are obese. Doctors are turning to weight loss drugs
In Michigan, nearly 1 in 5 children have obesity. Some doctors say weight loss drugs can help patients get ahead of the problem before the extra weight triggers lifelong — and expensive — conditions.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
As crisis rages, Michigan speeds up opioid spending in new budget
The state will pump close to $50 million into addiction services next year from opioid settlement funds. It’s a big increase over current spending.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
ACLU challenges Michigan’s ban on Medicaid-funded abortions
Lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan are challenging the state’s ban on using Medicaid dollars for abortion procedures, calling the prohibition ‘burdensome and discriminatory.’
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan judge suspends abortion law mandating 24-hour wait
Michigan’s 24-hour waiting period law “exacerbates the burdens that patients experience seeking abortion care,” the judge wrote.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
In Michigan, cases of whooping cough hint at post-pandemic comeback
The infection, known for causing a can’t-catch-your-breath, whoop-like cough, usually causes only a mild illness, but can be deadly to infants.
Posted inBusiness Watch
12 more Rite Aid stores closing in Michigan, the latest for bankrupt chain
Rite Aid is in bankruptcy and has struggled to keep its doors open. See if your location is on the closure list.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Millions to help opioid users still unspent in half of Michigan’s counties
As a crisis mounts that kills 3,000 per year, Michigan’s counties have been slow to distribute tens of millions of dollars in funds meant to fight the opioid crisis.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Cyberattack on Ascension Michigan, other sites, began with ‘honest mistake’
A person in an Ascension system ‘accidentally downloaded a malicious file that they thought was legitimate,’ the hospital system reported in its latest update.