Medicare and Medicaid 50 years old today

panelists during national anthem

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…

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The science behind farm herbicides and cancer

Farmers count on chemical herbicides to keep their fields weed-free. But an international panel of scientists who studied two of the most heavily used farm chemicals to determine whether they could cause cancer, said exposure to weed-killing chemicals could come at a cost. In the last few months, scientists brought together by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, or IARC, considered glyphosate and 2,4-D.

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Attacking infant mortality in Wyandotte County

After Ashley Anderson gave birth to her daughter, Jade Marie, the nurses placed the little girl on her mom’s chest. She says she remembers her newborn looking serene, with delicate lashes, her eyes gently closed. The heart-breaking truth – as Anderson had learned during the delivery – was that Jade had died in the womb.…

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Us, getting by

As the debate over a better living wage for Kanas City residents continues to be an ongoing conversation, and with the KCMO city council addressing the issue in today’s council meeting, reporter Daniel Boothe and photographer Lara Shipley present portraits and voices from KC workers, as part of Flatland’s “Getting By” project exploring the impact of economic, educational and health disparities in KC.

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Death And Dying: Expanding Palliative Care

A milestone multi-year study published in 1995 startled the medical world when it revealed that about half the hospital doctors treating terminally ill people were unaware when their patients had not wanted aggressive, life-extending treatments and that about half those who died in their care had pain that might have been abated. Equally shocking, the…

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