FLINT, Mich. (AP) – Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder expects Medicaid to be expanded next week to an additional 15,000 children and pregnant women in the Flint area, confronting the city’s lead-contaminated water emergency.
Snyder said Monday a state Senate committee will likely approve the funding this week – two months after the Obama administration authorized a waiver request. He calls it a “major step forward” after a House panel voted last week.
President Barack Obama will visit Flint on Wednesday. Snyder says he has formally asked to meet with the president and Flint Mayor Karen Weaver to discuss the water crisis.
He’s still urging residents to run their kitchen and bath faucets for five minutes a day for two weeks to flush lead out of pipes and recoat them with anti-corrosion chemicals.