May 3, 2013 CNS Bonus Budget

Posted on May 3, 2013 by CNS

May 3, 2013 – Bonus Week

To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman

http://news.jrn.msu.edu/capitalnewsservice/. For technical problems, contact CNS tech manager Alyssa Firth (alyssafirth@gmail.com); (248) 635-2398.

BONUS WEEK: Here is our regular end-of-semester bonus file of still-timely stories you may not have had space for before. We look forward to working with you again in the fall.

GREAT LAKES ECHO AVAILABLE THIS SUMMER: CNS editors continue to have free access through the summer to news stories produced by the School of Journalism’s environmental reporting program at GreatLakesEcho.org.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

STORMANNIVERSARY: Michigan communities, including Bloomfield Hills and Port Huron, are commemorating the centennial of the most devastating storms known to hit the Great Lakes, taking 250-plus lives and sinking 19 ships. Lake Huron was hardest hit. By Celeste Bott. FOR ALL POINTS.

HEALTHCAREDEMAND: Michigan’s public universities are pumping out twice as many bachelor’s degrees in health fields as eight years ago, but there’s a severe shortage of qualified applicants for jobs, especially nurses. We hear from the Michigan Health Council, Forest View Psychiatric Hospital, Spectrum Health and Health & Hospital Association. Lawmakers, including ones from Grand Rapids, Montague, Ann Arbor and Muskegon, want all hospitals to implement staffing plans. By Cortney Erndt. FOR ALL POINTS.

GOVERNMENTJOBSTREND: The job picture may be a bit rosier for people aspiring to careers with state or local governments, at least nationally, but apparently not in Michigan, as Alpena and St. Ignace illustrate. By Justine McGuire. FOR ALL POINTS.

NEWDOCTORS: The opening of new medical schools at Western Michigan, Central Michigan and Oakland universities exacerbates the shortage of post-graduate residency positions at hospitals in the state. That leads to an exodus of Michigan-educated physicians. The shortage of openings is most acute in Northern Michigan, where the only approved programs are based in Traverse City and Marquette. We talk to State Medical Society experts. By Kyle Campbell. FOR ALL POINTS.

PAY-TO-DRIVE: While the governor proposes higher fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees, technology may provide an alternative way to raise revenue for highway and bridge projects – but only way down the road. Several states are experimenting with a “vehicle miles traveled” tax. The MDOT director and Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association explain. By Edith Zhou. FOR ALL POINTS.

MICHIGANDRONES: Northwestern Michigan College has the federal OK to fly drones, while U of M is reapplying after its FAA authorization expired. The Montcalm County sheriff says drones could help law enforcement agencies, although his department can’t afford them. An Ann Arbor company makes them, the ACLU in Detroit has privacy concerns and a Rochester Hills lawmaker is looking into the issue. By Michael Gerstein. FOR ALL POINTS.

ROADNAMES: Some legislators want to rename highways and bridges in Wayne, Kalamazoo, Shiawassee and Jackson counties. Among those approved in 2011-12 were ones in Allegan, Ottawa, Lake, Gladwin, Oakland and Menominee counties. The governor wants to make the naming process more disciplined. By Eric Freedman. FOR ALL POINTS.

CNS

April 26, 2013 CNS Budget

Posted on April 26, 2013 by CNS

April 26, 2013 – Week 14

To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman & Sheila Schimpf

http://news.jrn.msu.edu/capitalnewsservice/. For technical problems, contact CNS tech manager Alyssa Firth (alyssafirth@gmail.com); (248) 635-2398.

BONUS WEEK AHEAD: Next Friday, May 3, will be our traditional end-of-semester bonus file with still-timely stories you may not have had space for before. Of course, CNS members can continue to use other archived stories and visuals.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

ETHANOL: Demand for biofuels is stagnant in Michigan, causing problems for the state’s ethanol industry that has five plants in Riga Township, Caro, Albion, Lake Odessa and Marysville. We talk to the Corn Growers Association, Associated Petroleum Industries and officials at plants in Riga Township and Lake Odessa. By Kyle Campbell. FOR BLISSFIELD, GREENVILLE, MACOMB, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, BROWN CITY, LAPEER & ALL POINTS.

ACCESSIBLEVOTING: Michigan election officials, including ones in St. Joseph and Ottawa counties, say they’re working to make polling places more accessible to voters with disabilities. Flint made improvements after the U.S. Justice Department stepped in. Meanwhile, the GAO says 45 percent of polling places nationally have impediments to voters with disabilities. By Cortney Erndt. FOR STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, SOUTH BEND, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, HOLLAND, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

DROUGHTRESISTANTCORN: First came drought in 2012. Then came heavy rains and flooding in 2013. Michigan weather is unpredictable, but some farmers are trying drought-resistant corn this season. We talk to farmers in Hopkins, Portland and Lansing Township, plus the Farm Bureau and Corn Growers Association. For news and agriculture pages. By Justine McGuire. FOR HOLLAND, LANSING, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, BLISSFIELD, GREENVILLE, BROWN CITY, THREE RIVERS, LAPEER, STURGIS, SOUTH BEND, GLADWIN, LUDINGTON, BIG RAPIDS, MANISTEE & ALL POINTS.

DROUGHTRESISTANTCORNTABLE: Top five-producing counties in 2012 and yields in 2011 and 2012: Saginaw, Sanilac, Gratiot, Huron, Tuscola. Source: Michigan Corn Growers Association.

MENTALHEALTHCOST: The cost to counties of providing jail inmates with mental health care will continue to rise unless the Legislature expands Medicaid coverage, experts say. We hear from jail officials in Oakland and Allegan counties, the Sheriffs’ Association and Community Health. By Cortney Erndt. FOR HOLLAND, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, ROYAL OAK, DEADLINE DETROIT & ALL POINTS.

PSYCHIATRICCARE: Closure of most state psychiatric hospitals since the mid-1980s still has serious repercussions for prisons and jails. The Mental Health Association, Sheriffs’ Association, Corrections Department and Community Health Department opine, as do jail officials in Ingham and St. Joseph counties. Remaining hospitals are in Northville, Caro, Kalamazoo, Westland and Ann Arbor. By Michael Gerstein. FOR MICHIGAN CITIZEN, ROYAL OAK, MACOMB, DEADLINE DETROIT, LANSING, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, SOUTH BEND, LAPEER, GREENVILLE, MARQUETTE & ALL POINTS.

INSURANCECOMMISSIONER: A proposed constitutional amendment from Detroit and Taylor senators would let voters elect the state’s top insurance regulator, a move sponsors say would benefit consumers. The Insurance Institute, a Hamburg senator and governor’s office criticize the idea. By Justine McGuire. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, DEADLINE DETROIT, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

WALLEYESTUDY: DNR researchers are in the final year of a study of walleye spawning in U.P. rivers to better manage populations. The best waters for walleye fishing are the Lake-Erie-Detroit River-Lake St. Clair-St. Clair River system, as well as the Tittabawassee and Muskegon rivers. By Edith Zhou: FOR MARQUETTE, ST. IGNACE, BAY MILLS, CHEBOYGAN, MACOMB, LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, ALPENA, ALCONA, CADILLAC, CRAWFORD COUNTY, HOLLAND, LAKE COUNTY, MANISTEE, BIG RAPIDS, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, SOUTH BEND, GLADWIN, BAY MILLS, TRAVERSE CITY & ALL POINTS.

w/WALLEYESTUDYPHOTO: Credit: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

AIRQUALITY: Although to a new Lung Association report says the state’s air quality has improved, Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Ottawa, Allegan and Muskegon still fail in ozone days, although some of them score As on reduced particle pollution, as do Lenawee, Manistee and Ingham counties. One factor is coal-fueled power plants that environmentalists say contribute to unhealthy levels of ozone. We hear from DEQ and green groups. By Celeste Bott. FOR MACOMB, ROYAL OAK, HOLLAND, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, BLISSFIELD, DEADLINE DETROIT, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, LANSING & ALL POINTS

HEALTHPARITY: State officials and health insurers still don’t know how the Affordable Care Act requirement for parity in mental health and physical health coverage will be enforced. We talk to Psychiatric Society, Mental Health Association, Association of Health Plans. By Michael Gerstein. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

COMMERCIALFISHING: The number of state-licensed commercial fishing operations on the Great Lakes is dwindling in a downward spiral that signals a change in culture as well as economics and environment. DNR provides data on yield and value by state and tribal-licensed operators. Fishtown on the Leelanau Peninsula is now more about tourism than commercial fishing. By Eric Freedman. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, MARQUETTE, LUDINGTON, ALCONA, MANISTEE, BAY MILLS, ST. IGNACE, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, CHEBOYGAN, ALPENA, MACOMB, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.

w/COMMERCIALFISHGRAPHIC: State-licensed commercial fishing harvest for lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie and Superior in 2012. Credit: Department of Natural Resources.

DAMS: Many of the state’s 2,600 dams are unsafe or no longer useful, but there’s not enough money to remove or fix them. DNR will spend more than $2 million this year on projects in Grand Traverse, Ionia, Allegan, Gogebic, Tuscola and Shiawassee counties, but 12 others were unfunded. We talk to DNR and Traverse City-based Conservation Resource Alliance. Among those not funded are projects in Oakland, Van Buren, Montmorency, Lake, Otsego and Ontonagon counties. By Justin Anderson. FOR HOLLAND, GREENVILLE, TRAVERSE CITY, MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, LANSING, BROWN CITY, LAPEER LUDINGTON, LAKE COUNTY, MANISTEE, CADILLAC, BIG RAPIDS, HERALD REVIEW, ALPENA, ROYAL OAK, SOUTH BEND, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS .

TURKEYS: DNR relocated 31 wild turkeys from Barry County to Lake County in a bid to increase the northern Lower Peninsula flock. We hear from a turkey hunters’ group based in Chase and Wildlife Division experts. For news and outdoors pages. By Nick Vanderwall. FOR CADILLAC, LAKE COUNTY, BIG RAPIDS, LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, BIG RAPIDS, HERALD REVIEW, GLADWIN, CRAWFORD COUNTY, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, CHEBOYGAN, HARBOR SPRINGS, ST. IGNACE & ALL POINTS.

w/TURKEYSPHOTO: Credit: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

TRAILGUY: An army veteran from Taylor is on a 10-week hike from Belle Isle to the Western Upper Peninsula, the first hiker to tackle the full route of a 924-mile trail network the governor proposed to connect Southeast Michigan and Wisconsin and boost tourism. We talk to enthusiasts in Detroit and Cheboygan and the Greenways & Trails Alliance. By Nick Blaskowski. FOR MICHIGAN CITIZEN, DEADLINE DETROIT, MACOMB, OAKLAND, ALPENA, ALCONA, CHEBOYGAN, ST. IGNACE, MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS & ALL POINTS.

POROUSPAVEMENT: Some communities are using porous pavement to reduce pollutants entering the groundwater and to cut cost of snow and ice removal. Among them are Detroit, Grand Valley State and Michigan State universities, Battle Creek and Ann Arbor. By Justin Anderson. FOR DEADLINEDETROIT, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, MACOMB, ROYAL OAK, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, GREENVILLE & ALL POINTS.

CNS

Questions remain on mental health insurance coverage

Posted on April 26, 2013 by CNS

By MICHAEL GERSTEIN

Capital News Service

LANSING – When new provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act take effect next year, a number of things could change, but don’t expect a clear answer as to what those changes will be.

Insurers, health administrators and legislators are still trying to iron out details, and without a lot of consensus.

One shift that’s supposed to extend to Michigan – on paper – is called mental health parity.

Under the federal law, employers with fewer than 50 employees will have to cover psychological or psychiatric treatment in the same insurance package that covers physical care. Employers with more than 50 employees won’t have to do the same until 2017.

That equality between mental and physical health care was already supposed to happen, but experts say all too often it doesn’t.

“It’s not unusual for individuals to have limits on the number of visits they can have” for mental health treatment, “where on the physical side they can receive visits as they need,” said Rick Murdock, executive director of the Michigan Association of Health Plans, which represents health insurance companies.

“There’s always the issue of what’s in the benefits package, and what isn’t,” Murdock said.

Mental health parity is already in effect for Medicaid recipients, but those buying on the private insurance market don’t see the same equity, he said.

Advocates and experts say the state is at a tough crossroads with questions of how equality will be enforced, and what will happen if the Legislature doesn’t extend Medicaid coverage to hundreds of thousands of uninsured state residents.

“We desperately need the Medicaid expansion in Michigan,” says Mark Reinstein, president of the Michigan Mental Health Association.

Medicaid expansion and the Affordable Care Act could mean that denying coverage or putting caps on counseling visits would end. Though such disparity was supposed to stop in 2008 when Congress passed the law, Reinstein and others in the psychiatric community say it still exists.

Reinstein said he’s worried because enforcement would require “an incredible expenditure of money,” and current enforcement efforts seem “rather lax.”

That’s why he and other advocates want a state mental health parity law. Michigan is one of seven states that haven’t adopted such laws.

No bills are pending that would require full mental health parity.

“We are lacking the guidance and the measuring stick for evaluating health plans,” said Kathleen Gross, executive director of the Michigan Psychiatric Society.

“Insurance providers all over the state are scrambling” to understand how parity will be implemented and have oversight, she said. “People need guideposts when they’re measuring a plan.”

Gross said, “We’re hoping that the legislation will address parity comprehensively, and not just for autism.”

A bill requiring insurers to cover autism treatment passed last year, but without a provision requiring parity for other mental illnesses.

“The financial piece is where you see the lack of justice,” she added. “Many people are pushed into the public system,” and it “can be particularly difficult to get the treatment you would want for your child.

“We certainly have heard terrible stories of families being bankrupt” when they have to cover a family member with a serious mental illness. There have been a number of cases in which employers take higher co-pay percentages of their employees’ paychecks for mental health care.

“You might have to pay 10, 15, 20 percent for your physical care,” Gross said. “But if you have to pay 50 percent for hospitalization for a family member who is acutely mentally ill, that can run up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“It doesn’t take much these days to tip a family into a medical cost bankruptcy,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Legislature debating whether to pass the federally funded Medicaid expansion.

Jails, prisons struggle with mentally ill inmates

Posted on April 26, 2013 by CNS

By MICHAEL GERSTEIN

Capital News Service

LANSING — It started slowly, when the Traverse City Regional Psychiatric Hospital shut its doors in the mid-1980s. Then in the 1990s, 10 more folded in rapid succession. And like the last teetering blocks in a long line of dominoes, Northville Regional Psychiatric Hospital fell in 2003 and the Mt. Pleasant Center in 2009.

Now, the state continues to grapple with lasting effects of those closures. Officials and psychiatric professionals say prisons and jails have become the new home for the many seriously psychologically troubled, and at a high price for both inmates and taxpayers.

The projected 2013 cost for Corrections Department psychotropic drugs is $3,431,500.
Continue reading →

Ongoing walleye studies help DNR

Posted on April 26, 2013 by CNS

By EDITH ZHOU

Capital News Service

LANSING – The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is in its final sampling year of a tag-and-recapture study of the walleye population in the inland waterways of Northern Michigan.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

It’s part of ongoing research about the popular species by the Fisheries Division.

“The studies have provided data on the exploitation rate of the population, walleye growth rates and the movements between waters,” said Edward Baker, manager of the Marquette Fisheries Research Station.

Many of the state’s Great Lakes waters are world-famous for walleye.
Continue reading →

Results mixed in new air quality study

Posted on April 26, 2013 by CNS

By CELESTE BOTT

Capital News Service

LANSING – Michigan has reduced overall air pollution since 2012, but its most populous counties still don’t earn a passing grade, according to a new report from the American Lung Association.

Its State of the Air report provides grades of A to F in two areas: particle pollution and ozone action days.

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) declares ozone days when smog and weather conditions create the risk of health problems. Continue reading →

Officials improve access for voters with disabilities

Posted on April 26, 2013 by CNS

By CORTNEY ERNDT

Capital News Service

LANSING – Election officials say they are striving to make polling places more accessible to voters with disabilities.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated that nationally, 45 percent of polling places have impediments, such as lack of ramps.

Justin Roebuck, elections coordinator at the Ottawa County Clerk’s office, said, “It’s very important that we are completely accommodating our voters and have equal opportunity.”

Roebuck said polling places in his county provide lowered tables and ramps for wheelchairs.
Continue reading →

Ethanol production levels off in Michigan

Posted on April 26, 2013 by CNS

By KYLE CAMPBELL

Capital News Service

LANSING — Less than a year after a brutal drought damaged corn crops across the Midwest, the ethanol industry is looking to recover from its first national decline in 15 years.

Though Michigan’s corn crop was damaged less than those in nearby Indiana and Illinois, production of ethanol — an alcohol-based fuel made from corn — slowed at its refineries while other facilities throughout the U.S. idled or were shut down.

For example, the Global Ethanol Inc. Riga facility near Blissfield was able to maintain its 46 employees through last year’s drought but experienced declines in output, plant manager Bill Welever said.
Continue reading →

Counties look to Medicaid to slow mental health costs

Posted on April 26, 2013 by CNS

By CORTNEY ERNDT

Capital News Service

LANSING – Jail inmates’ mental health costs will continue to rise without an expansion of Medicaid, according to sheriff’s departments across the state.

In 2012, the Allegan County Jail spent about $15,250, averaging about $1,270 per month to improve mental health, the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department said.

In March of this year, mental health services for inmates cost about $2,400, almost double the monthly average of 2012, the department said.
Continue reading →

Proposal to elect insurance commissioner faces ‘uphill battle’

Posted on April 26, 2013 by CNS

By JUSTINE McGUIRE

Capital News Service

LANSING – If Michigan had an elected insurance commissioner rather than one appointed by the governor, consumers would benefit from more favorable policies and insurance rates, Sen. Virgil Smith, D-Detroit, said.

Smith proposed a constitutional amendment to elect the insurance commissioner and said his research found that states that elect their commissioners tend to have “more progressive laws on the books.”

They are California, Kansas, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Washington and Oklahoma.
Smith pointed out that they’re not all-blue or all-red states politically.
Continue reading →