Gov. Snyder seeks more Medicaid coverage for Flint residents

Flint’s water became contaminated with lead in April 2014, while the city was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager, after it temporarily switched its source of drinking water from Lake Huron water treated by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to Flint River water treated at the Flint water treatment plant.

Residents began complaining about the water nearly immediately after the switch was made.

The committee was criticized by Democrats in Congress for not inviting Snyder to testify at a hearing on the subject held last Wednesday and, this week, the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee – a partisan panel – tendered an invitation to Snyder which he turned down.

Snyder’s sent the formal request for a waiver on Sunday, which his office said would affect approximately 15,000 Flint residents up to age 21 and pregnant women.

One man who lost his mother to the disease said his daughter will not get to ever see her grandmother again. Some residents reported rashes and hair loss after bathing in city water. But he said his superiors “seem to have their own agenda”. “We can confirm they were invited to this 11 June call, but can’t confirm whether they participated”. However, there is talk about providing EBT and SNAP benefits to those people whose children were highly exposed to the lead poisoning from the toxic water.

“That was a awful tragedy to have happened”, said Governor Rick Snyder.

A mobile medical clinic created to provide care and resources to children is coming to Flint as the city deals with a lead-tainted water crisis. There are reports that the problem also caused Legionnaires’ disease to some people.

“This is the most important work we are ever called to do: to reach out, in every way we can, to lend that helping hand for every single person in Flint”, Clinton says in the video.

Flint is now under a state of emergency because of elevated lead levels that continue to be found in drinking water supplied to city residents.

The emails, which are from October and November 2015 and were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, include correspondence by Jim Henry, Genesee County’s environmental health supervisor, to county Health Officer Mark Valacak, and correspondence between Henry and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) Laboratory Director George Krisztian. One expert told The AP that no state requires any advance or preventative testing for Legionella in building water systems, and another notes that the drawback to the standards developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers is that they are voluntary.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Flint, Mich., ahead of the New Hampshire primary last week has paid off in endorsements from community leaders. He will sit alongside US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy, though no date has yet been set. A lack of corrosion control in the water caused lead to leach from old plumbing throughout the city.

He added: “While it’s not a big hurry at this time since Miguel is out till next week, we eventually will have to respond”.