News & Issues
Many Americans are staying away from banks
LaJua Manning works 40 hours a week, and sometimes more than that. She’s a certified nursing assistant, working nights to take care of bedridden patients. Still, she struggles to make ends meet for her and for her two-year-old daughter. When the paychecks do come in, Manning doesn’t deposit them in a bank. In fact, she…
Official reports about the shooting of Ryan Stokes raise more questions than answers. Here’s why
In the early morning hours of July 28th, 2013, Ryan Lee Stokes, 24, died when Kansas City Police Officer William Thompson shot him in an asphalt parking lot near the Power & Light District. Stokes was unarmed. Last weekend, almost two years later, supporters at a candlelight vigil on the steps of City Hall demanded…
Medicare and Medicaid 50 years old today
Advocates of government-sponsored health care gathered Thursday at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri, to mark the anniversary of legislation that’s both a local story and a milestone for medical care in the United States. Fifty years ago, on the same stage where speakers sat, President Lyndon Johnson signed the law establishing…
Medicare Turns 50 But Big Challenges Await
Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly and disabled, has come a long way since its creation in 1965 when nearly half of all seniors were uninsured. Now the program covers 55 million people, providing insurance to one in six Americans. With that in mind, Medicare faces a host of challenges in the…
Changes Ahead For Shawnee County Safety Net Clinics
The switch from county oversight to management by a Wichita-based nonprofit is under way for the four safety net clinics in Shawnee County. Together, the four clinics provide health services to about 8,000 patients a year, regardless of their ability to pay. That sounds like a lot. But for a county with 20,500 uninsured children…