News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
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…
MIDTOWN KC CHARTER WINS APPROVAL FROM STATE PANEL
A band of Midtown Kansas City parents is close to realizing their dream of creating a diverse, high-performing school district aimed at serving young families that might otherwise leave the city for better education options in the suburbs. The Missouri Charter Public School Commission this morning approved a plan put forth by the nonprofit Citizens of…
Rethinking Mental Health’s Role In Rural Kansas
A new partnership in southwest Kansas aims to build mental health services and help strengthen a couple of rural hospitals at the same time. The nonprofit United Methodist Health Ministry Fund is leading an effort to make the health system work better for people in rural Kansas. The fund’s president, Kim Moore, says the current…