Dental funds for the poor caught in Missouri budget battle

DENTAL CHAIR

Approximately $18 million that would restore basic dental benefits for hundreds of thousands of low-income Missouri adults is in limbo due to a sweeping budget action by Gov. Jay Nixon. Acting under what he termed his constitutional duty to balance the state budget, Nixon late last month restricted or vetoed approximately $1.1 billion in spending…

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Truman Med could get hit with penalty over infection rates

Truman Medical Center Hospital Hill is among 175 hospitals nationwide most likely to be penalized with the loss of Medicare payments because of high rates of infection and other complications. In April, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services calculated preliminary “hospital-acquired condition” scores from 1 to 10, with one being best and 10 being worst. Truman was…

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Tax credits drop health insurance premiums for Missouri, Kansas consumers

Medicaid symbol, Kansas and Missouri with dollar bill and downward pointed arrow

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday outlined the savings, by state, accrued by by consumers through the Affordable Care Act’s online marketplace for insurance policies. In Missouri, marketplace shoppers who selected silver plans — the most popular plan type– paid an average of $45 per month after tax credits. In Kansas,…

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Kansas sees significant increase in Medicaid/CHIP enrollment

Unlike its neighboring states of Missouri and Nebraska, where significant decreases have been reported, Kansas has seen a significant jump in the number of people enrolled in its Medicaid/CHIP programs, even without loosening its relatively tight eligibility standards. According to a new report from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, enrollment in the programs…

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