Politics

Kevin Brown Josh Umbehr has operated a direct medical care practice in Wichita since 2010. Rather than bill insurance companies for his services, he charges a monthly membership fee of $10 for kids and $50 for adults for unlimited visits, texts, phone calls, discounted prescription medications and in-office services.

Doctor running for lieutenant governor swears by ‘direct primary care’ model

Wichita physician Josh Umbehr has never understood the traditional model of health care reimbursement — the one in which doctors and hospitals fill out pages of forms to bill a patient’s insurance company for everything from a $3 test to a $30,000 surgery. “You don’t have car insurance for gasoline,” Umbehr said in a recent phone interview. “Why would…

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Lobbyist in KS state capitol

Nurses’ push for independence from doctors stalls in KS Legislature

By Jim McLean – KHI News Service The ways of the Kansas Legislature are a frustrating mystery to Merilyn Douglas. The advanced practice registered nurse from Garden City is part of a group that is pushing for passage of a bill that would allow APRNs to practice independently from physicians. But that push has stalled….

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