Through a pandemic program, the federal government reimbursed Michigan health care providers for nearly $131 million spent on COVID-19 treatment, testing and vaccination for uninsured patients, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. They are unlikely, however, to receive any further aid. The fund is exhausted and the agency stopped accepting claims for testing or treatment March 22. For vaccine administration, the health administration ceased issuing payments April 5, just when Michigan started to see an uptick in new, reported COVID-19 cases. Hospitalizations, though still well below peak numbers, have increased this month for the first time since January.
Most of the money, about $78 million, went toward testing. About $41 million covered treatment and nearly $12 million paid for vaccine administration. Vaccines remain free and provided by the federal government, but the United States no longer is paying for labor and other costs associated with giving the shots, authorities said. READ MORE ►University of Michigan celebrates ‘22 grads with first fully in-person ceremony since 2019 ►28 candidates for office in Michigan get petition signatures challenged
►Waivers for Michigan pandemic unemployment overpayments are still pending |
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| At least four million people have an arrest or criminal record, but some might not have a conviction, federal data shows. And about one million people were made eligible for expungement when Michigan’s Clean Slate laws went into effect on April 11, 2021. Since then, more than 10,000 have applied for expungement, of which 8,229 records were cleared. Before Clean Slate, only about 2,500 Michiganders applied each year. “The more people that get expunged, the better,” said John Cooper, executive director of Safe & Just Michigan. “But it’s a drop in the bucket when you’re talk about a couple million people having criminal records in Michigan.” Expungement is an economic development tool, Cooper says, that will boost wages and fill gaps in the state’s workforce. READ MORE
►One Michigan county makes millions by recycling. It could become a state model ►Barriers to getting overdose-reversing drugs remain, University of Michigan study finds |
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| The Detroit Lions hit their defense hard in the draft, making six of their eight selections on that side of the ball, three of whom are pass rushers. That’s a club record in the seven-round era. Needless to say, they’re excited by the possibilities. “We definitely felt like we got better as an organization this week,” general manager Brad Holmes said. “We got eight guys that we’re really, really excited about that we believe can help us going forward. We always talk about the future and down the road, but we feel really, really good. We’re excited as an organization, as a team. We just feel the really good thing is about all these guys that we got they all have different flavors. They’re not all cut out of the same box.” READ MORE
►NFC North winners and losers from the 2022 NFL draft
►Loss of family members fuels Ann Arbor boxer’s dream of making Olympics |
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| It’s estimated that about 20% of Michigan adults experience a diagnosable mental-health condition in a given year. Yet more than half will go untreated. A major barrier? Cost, experts say. Mental-health therapy can result in hundreds or thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses, even for people with insurance, depending on deductibles and co-pays. That issue can be compounded by insurance plans with limited in-network options for mental-health providers. The good news: Access to affordable mental-health care has improved in recent years. READ MORE ►Republicans aim to prohibit transgender athletes from girls’ sports through state school budget
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