News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Can Missouri afford not to expand Medicaid?
Even as prospects appear bleak for Medicaid expansion in Missouri, a new report says the state would save $81 million right off the bat and $100 million annually later on if it expands the program. The report by the Missouri Budget Project, a nonpartisan think tank in St. Louis, says the savings would come from money the state currently spends on Medicaid services provided to pregnant women, mental health patients and prisoners in need of medical care.
Update: Mystery Man under runway 1
The other shoe is about to drop. New test results on skeletal remains found under a runway at Wheeler Downtown Airport are due soon. The Jackson County Medical Examiner agreed to arrange for radiocarbon testing of the remains after the Hale Center for Journalism offered to cover the $685 cost. Those results should shed important…
How do you build the ‘gigabit city’?
Nearly four years after Google Fiber announced service to the Kansas City area, some key questions remain largely unanswered — particularly questions about how the city will use gigabit-speed internet to grow and thrive. This week in Kansas City, the Gigabit City Summit, organized largely by KC Digital Drive, is assembling representatives from Kansas City…
Missouri health advocates say they’re happy with ACA enrollment numbers
At roughly the midpoint of the second Affordable Care Act open-enrollment period, health advocates say they’re happy with the number of people signing up in Missouri. Ryan Barker, vice president of health policy at the Missouri Foundation for Health, said that more than 102,000 people enrolled in health plans in the first month alone. In the entire first open enrollment period, 152,000 people signed up.
A guide to the legislative sessions, from the ‘Week In Review’ crew
Missouri lawmakers returned to Jefferson City this week and on Monday, Kansas legislators will gather in Topeka for the opening of a new session. From what to do about Ferguson to putting toll booths on I-70, legalizing marijuana to expanding Medicaid…Nick Haines and the panel provide a guide to the upcoming legislative sessions in both states.