Category: Health & Welfare
Posted inGovernment, Health & Welfare

Wisconsin health-care helpers getting a late start

by Alison Dirr Why you can trust Wisconsin Watch

Three weeks after the launch of federal health care exchanges, just one of the six organizations selected to receive a total of $1 million in federal funds to help Wisconsinites enroll is up and running. J.P. Wieske, spokesman for the state Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, blamed the delay on the federal government. “Functionally, […]

Posted inEconomy, Frac Sand Rush, Government, Health & Welfare

Frac sand health fears rise as mining booms in Wisconsin

by Alison Dirr Why you can trust Wisconsin Watch

Like some other west-central Wisconsin residents, Frances and Dean Sayles are frustrated with the state Department of Natural Resources’ lack of a comprehensive approach to addressing concerns surrounding potential health problems from crystalline silica dust. Now some residents, academics, local government officials and even a frac sand producer have begun taking action.

Posted inEnvironment, Government, Health & Welfare

Prions — in plants? New concern for chronic wasting disease

by Ron Seely Why you can trust Wisconsin Watch

Prions — the infectious, deformed proteins that cause chronic wasting disease in deer — can be taken up by plants such as alfalfa, corn and tomatoes, according to new research from the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison. The research further demonstrated that stems and leaves from tainted plants were infectious when injected into laboratory mice.The findings are significant, according to the researchers and other experts, because they reveal a previously unknown potential route of exposure to prions for a Wisconsin deer herd in which the fatal brain illness continues to spread.

Posted inEconomy, Government, Health & Welfare

Walker now backs funding for disabled workers

by Tegan Wendland Why you can trust Wisconsin Watch

Gov. Scott Walker has announced plans to change course and seek full federal funding of a program that helps people with disabilities find jobs. Advocates at Disability Rights Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Rehabilitation Council credit a report by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism for new legislation aiming to fully fund the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, an arm of the state Department of Workforce Development.

Posted inEconomy, Government, Health & Welfare

State passes up federal disabilities aid for jobless, despite backlogs

by Tegan Wendland Why you can trust Wisconsin Watch

Thousands of people with disabilities must wait for months to access state employment services, although the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation has not requested the full amount of federal funds available to it for the past three years, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism has found.

Posted inEndocrine disruptors, Environment, Government, Health & Welfare

Experts avoid sounding alarm on chemicals — but adjust their own habits

by Kate Golden Why you can trust Wisconsin Watch

“It’s hard not to make people too worried about a lot of things,” said UW-Madison pediatric endocrinologist Ellen Connor, after running through a plethora of hypothesized health effects — genital abnormalities, tumors, lower sperm counts, diabetes, early puberty — and an equally long list of worrisome chemicals.