News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Poll: Kansas uninsured rate goes up by 40 percent
Kansas was one of just three states that saw their rates of people without health insurance go up since last year, according to a new survey. And, if the poll results are accurate, Kansas was the one whose rates went up the most. The data, collected as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, show that…
Gun violence changes polling places
Like millions of other Americans, I exercised my right to vote today, but it took three tries – thanks partly to my own ignorance and partly to the fact that our pervasive fear of gun violence in this country has finally invaded the voting booth. My early morning trek began at a small elementary school…
Missouri ballot issue aims to help veterans
Among the issues Missouri voters will face at the polls Tuesday is a proposed amendment to the Missouri Constitution that has pitted veterans advocates against education supporters. The proposed amendment, Constitutional Amendment 8, would create a veterans lottery ticket by July of next year, the proceeds of which would be deposited in the Veterans Commission…
Obamacare among issues fueling campaign to unseat House GOP moderates
The same groups that used the wedge issue of Obamacare to unseat moderate Republican senators two years ago are targeting several House members for defeat in Tuesday’s GOP primary. But this time around, their efforts are being countered by groups that have organized to reverse the recent conservative tide in Kansas politics. TheKansas Values Institute and…
JOCO audit highlights security issues, other concerns in mental health operation
The Johnson County Mental Health Center has not resolved long-standing security concerns to protect employees at its Shawnee location, according to an internal audit presented to the board of commissioners Thursday. The audit, conducted by Interim County Auditor Ken Kleffner, said that the mental health agency had rejected security recommendations made in 2007 “because management…
How will new NCAA head injury guidelines affect players?
From PBS NewsHour The National Collegiate Athletic Association agreed to settle a number of cases brought in a class-action head injury lawsuit. The proposed settlement, which must still be approved by a federal judge, would create a $70 million fund for concussion testing and diagnosis of current and former athletes. NewsHour’s Gwen Ifill talks to…
Ex-employees of KC-area hospitals sold to Prime Healthcare sue over severance pay
Just days after Prime Healthcare Services agreed to buy two Kansas City-area hospitals, laid-off employees of two other area hospitals owned by Prime sued the company, claiming they were not provided with promised severance benefits. The suit seeks class-action status on behalf of other terminated employees. It says 49 workers were let go immediately after…
Company seeking to buy KC-area Catholic hospitals inspires condemnation, admiration
Update: Prime Healthcare Services now faces a lawsuit from employees laid off from two other Kansas City-area the company owns. Co-authored by Dan Margolies, health editor at KCUR, Kansas City Public Media. Prime Healthcare Services, the for-profit California health care company that has agreed to acquire two nonprofit Kansas City area hospitals, is no stranger to…
2014 primary candidates for Kansas insurance commissioner
No fewer than five candidates are seeking the Republican nomination for Kansas insurance commissioner, an office that has been dominated by Republicans since its creation in 1871. In the 20th century, only one Democrat has held the office, Kathleen Sebelius, who used it as a springboard to become Kansas governor in 2003 and, in 2009,…
Carondelet Health Agrees To Sell Two KC-area Hospitals
A West Coast hospital company has agreed to acquire two hospitals and other related facilities as part of a deal with Kansas City, Mo.-based Carondelet Health, the parties announced Monday. The buyer is Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Services, which has signed a letter of intent that includes the acquisition of St. Joseph Medical Center in…