Thursday, July 2: Union launches peer support for members, Medicaid and who is ‘medically frail,’ business owners turn against Line 5, Wisconsin confirms pregnancy prevention cuts, states try to tackle medical debt, a sweaty 4th ahead
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The Great Lakes are our economic engine supporting tourism, shipping, real estate, and countless jobs. A decade of destruction to our bottomlands for an unnecessary tunnel is bad for business and bad for our future.“
– Pete Laing and Travis Hixton, Great Lakes Business Network co-chairs
Walter Keller, a Laborers union member, works at a job site. The Wisconsin Laborers District Council is launching a peer support program for workers facing challenges with mental health, stress or substance abuse. (Photo courtesy Wisconsin Laborers District Council)
A Wisconsin construction union is launching an organized peer support program for its members who need help with addiction, substance abuse or mental health challenges — only the third program of its kind in the U.S. Erik Gunn interviews the union’s president, who says the aim is to help remove the stigma that construction workers may have around seeking help.
State Medicaid agencies are concerned that many sick and disabled enrollees will lose their coverage because the Trump administration is narrowing the definition of who is “medically frail” enough to get an exemption from new work requirements. Shalina Chatlani of Stateline reports on their worries.
After a drilling fluid spill, more than 200 business owners from throughout the Great Lakes region are calling on the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to reject permits for Enbridge’s Line 5 tunnel pipeline, urging other business owners to sign on to a joint letter opposing the project. Kyle Davidson of Michigan Advance has the story.
PLUS:
More from Washington:
ICYMI
Enbridge Line 5 reroute work north of Mellen, Wisconsin. (Photo by Frank Zufall/Wisconsin Examiner)
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