Heartland Health Monitor
Missouri Lawmakers Debate Whether Pregnancy Resource Centers Must Provide Science-Backed Information
You don’t have to drive far in Missouri to see billboards offering help to pregnant women. They’re part of the state’s Alternatives to Abortion program, which has seen a big increase in public funding in recent years. This year’s legislative debate on the program focuses on a new question: What kind of information should these…
Doctors Caught In Middle As Travel Ban Intersects With Rural Recruitment
Dr. Saeedeh Salmanzadeh became a U.S. citizen at a naturalization ceremony in October 2015. When the presiding official asked if any of the new citizens wanted to speak, she was one of the first to raise her hand. By then Salmanzadeh had spent 15 years in America, after leaving her home in Iran where she…
In The Face Of More Missouri Abortion Restrictions, One Woman Tells Her Story
Anti-abortion groups in Missouri helped boost many Republican candidates to victory in November, and they’re now eagerly waiting to see how those lawmakers advance their cause. Missouri legislators have filed dozens of restrictive abortion bills, including two that would outlaw abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy rather than the current 21-weeks and six days….
Medicine By Monthly Fee Expanding In Kansas: Is KanCare Next?
Dr. Damon Heybrock’s office doesn’t look like a traditional medical clinic. Heybrock finished converting a two-story row house into a medical practice in September, putting exam tables in the bedrooms and a centrifuge for lab tests next to the kitchen sink. Original pieces by Kansas City artists cover the walls of the clinic in Westwood,…
Take 5 For Your Health
Dancing To Defeat Diabetes: Kansas City Doctor Aims To Reduce Disease’s Toll Most Tuesday mornings, the Palestine Senior Activity Center in Kansas City is a pretty quiet place. But recently, high schoolers, community workers and seniors crowded the parking lot. Lots of curious neighbors peeked from porches and through the gates to see what the…
Take 5 For Your Health
Kansas Issues Request For Proposals To Privatize Osawatomie State Hospital Kansas is seeking a private partner to operate Osawatomie State Hospital under a proposal that would allow the contractor to shift more than half the hospital’s beds to other parts of eastern Kansas. A request for proposals to operate Osawatomie State Hospital was posted Nov….
Take 5 For Your Health
Water Task Force Leaning Toward Sales Tax Proposal A group appointed to study funding sources for Gov. Sam Brownback’s 50-year water plan is leaning toward proposing a dedicated sales tax. Earl Lewis, assistant director of the Kansas Water Office, presented the preliminary results of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Monday at the annual Kansas…
Take 5 For Your Health
Missouri Takes Step To Hold Down Health Insurance Rates, But Will It Be Enough? When individual health insurance plans go on sale on healthcare.gov, many Missourians will probably be more than a little shocked to see some rate increases as high as 40 percent. Similar increases are popping up nationwide, but different states have different…
New KC Mental Health Center Hailed As National Model
Supporters of a new mental health crisis center in Kansas City hailed the facility as a model for the rest of the state — and beyond — during its ceremonial opening this afternoon. “Other communities in Missouri are going to have their eyes on this project because they want to emulate it,” said Mike Nietzel,…
Take 5 For Your Health
Frustrated Jackson County Lawmakers Enact Their Own Prescription Drug Monitoring Plan Frustrated by the Missouri Legislature’s failure to enact a statewide prescription drug plan, Jackson County last week joined St. Louis and St. Louis County in enacting its own plan, hoping it will cut down on painkiller abuse and addiction. Missouri is the lone state…