Oakland County will use $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars, or COVID relief funds, to work with a national nonprofit, RIP Medical Debt, that will pay off medical debt for pennies on the dollar.
Robin Erb
Robin Erb covers a range of health issues in Michigan, including the industry of aging and the issues facing older residents in Michigan, a state that is aging faster than most others. She joined Bridge in 2019 and has led investigations that tracked millions of dollars in opioid settlement money and explored severe worker shortages in health care that threaten lives and the state's economy. She chronicled the shock and grief of Michigan families in COVID’s wake, as well as state policy decisions and the triumphs of medical breakthroughs. Robin previously spent six years covering health at the Detroit Free Press, documenting the battle over, and the eventual passage of, the Affordable Care Act and Michigan's Medicaid expansion. She studied communications and political science at Miami University and has a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Lourdes University (Toledo, Ohio). She and her husband raised two wonderful children — but have failed miserably at training their Beagle-Bassets — in southeast Michigan. Reach her at rerb@bridgemi.com.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Henry Ford, Ascension Michigan to partner in latest health care shift
The 19-state hospital chain, Ascension, will shed its south and mid-Michigan hospitals, but it will keep its hospitals in northern Michigan.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Nearly four years into COVID, Michigan’s autumn looking far more promising
For three years, Michigan’s autumn has meant a surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths. This year, the rise and severity of the virus is looking far more benign, leaving far more room for guarded optimism.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan cancer drug donation program looks to cut waste, help those in need
A group of Michigan pharmacists and doctors are setting up a statewide cancer drug exchange — more than 16 years after a state law allowed it. It’s intended to eliminate waste in usable drugs while helping those who can’t afford treatment.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Families fuel Michigan bills for parity in mental health insurance coverage
Despite a 2008 federal law that requires insurers to cover mental health and substance abuse treatment like other illnesses, families say insurers continue to deny such coverage, making new state laws essential.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
In Michigan mental health crisis, a tug-of-war over too few social workers
Michigan schools, mental health agencies and hospitals fight over too few social workers. Could relaxed licensing, better pay help?
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Munson to trim inpatient services at rural northern Michigan hospitals
Munson Healthcare, northern Michigan’s largest employer, will be limiting services at rural hospitals while boosting them in Traverse City. Officials cite staff shortages and rising patient demand for virtual options.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Activists pressure Detroit lawmaker opposed to Michigan abortion bills
Days after Detroit Rep. Karen Whitsett cast a surprising ‘no’ vote against a package of abortion bills important to Democrats, abortion rights activists applied more public pressure in a bid to change her stand.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Medicaid cuts off 148K Michiganders in review; cancer patients get reprieve
Nearly 148,000 Michiganders have lost their Medicaid coverage in the first two months of a year-long, post-COVID renewal process known as “redetermination.” The reason? Most didn’t file their paperwork.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Free COVID tests bound for Michigan mailboxes — if you ask
As part of an effort to tamp down the spread of respiratory viruses before they take hold, the Biden administration is reopening a program to send free tests to the nation’s households.