Michigan Supreme Court upholds partner benefits for unmarried state workers

LANSING – State employees in Michigan can continue to receive health benefits for their significant others, even if they’re not married, and even if they’re gay. That’s because the Michigan Supreme Court on Thursday declined to hear an appeal from the attorney general’s office, which has been challenging a local More…

Mich.’s AIDS planning group trades transparency for protection of members’ HIV status

LANSING, MICH.—The Michigan Department of Community Health has launched an investigation into whether its HIV/AIDS advisory body violated the state’s Open Meetings Act by requiring attendees to sign a confidentiality agreement. More…

Mich. HIV data collection violates intent of statute, says lawmaker who helped create law

LANSING, MICH. – Michigan’s health department is violating the legislative intent of an HIV-related statute – and maybe the law itself – by indefinitely collecting information on people who test for HIV at federally funded clinics, says a former state lawmaker, who helped pass sweeping health reforms in the wake More…

Mich. health dept. denies media access to training on controversial HIV database* UPDATE

This article has been updated, below the original story, to reflect that The American Independent has been authorized to attend Wednesday’s meeting. More…
LANSING, Mich. – Dozens of agencies and local health departments will be attending a mandatory meeting Wednesday in Lansing to review grant-fulfillment requirements related to HIV funding, but

Not-so-confidential HIV testing

Since 2003, the Michigan Department of Community Health has been secretly collecting the names, dates of birth, risk categories, and other demographic information of people submitting for confidential HIV testing at grant-funded locations throughout the state and storing them in a massive database, a months-long investigation by The American Independent More…

People with HIV fear unfair treatment in courts

WASHINGTON, DC — Nearly half of HIV-positive respondents to a recently released survey on HIV criminalization say they believe they will not receive a fair hearing in the criminal justice system if they ever face charges for failing to disclose their status to sexual partners. More…

Enbridge, regulators faulted in Michigan oil spill

LANSING — The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday said the massive oil spill that contaminated nearly 40 miles of the Kalamazoo River in Michigan could have been avoided. More…

Mich. HIV contractor violated privacy policy, investigation finds