(Missouri Independent) – Missourians who qualify for benefits under Medicaid expansion can begin enrolling. Still, it may take up to two months until they will find out if their eligibility has been verified and their application has been approved. In a news release Wednesday, Gov. Mike Parson announced that in response to a Cole County […]
Tag: decision
Lawmakers say special session likely unneeded to fund Missouri Medicaid expansion
(Missouri Independent) – Legislative leaders of both parties said Tuesday that a special session is likely not needed to appropriate additional funds following a court order to begin covering Missourians who are eligible under voter-approved Medicaid expansion. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Independence, and Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis and […]
Judge orders state to immediately allow Missourians to enroll in expanded Medicaid
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri Department of Social Services must allow newly eligible residents that qualify for benefits under voter-approved Medicaid expansion to enroll and cannot impose greater restrictions on them, a Cole County judge ruled Tuesday. Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem sided with the plaintiffs who urged him to allow Medicaid expansion to take […]
First “MO VIP” drawing to be held this week, deadline for entries is Wednesday
More than 375,000 vaccinated Missourians have entered the MO VIP, Missouri’s COVID-19 vaccine incentive program, for a shot at $10,000. Governor Mike Parson announced the launch of the statewide program on July 21. In the first 24 hours, more than 120,000 individuals registered. “We are encouraged to see more and more people taking the step […]
Trenton Board of Education discusses COVID-19 protocols during lengthy meeting
The Trenton R-9 Board of Education on August 10th discussed COVID-19-related matters for the upcoming school year. Superintendent Mike Stegman began by going over a list of protocols. They included staff and students attending school in person and using social distancing. Masks will be optional for staff and students inside district facilities. It is “highly […]
Commentary: COVID brings front and center the tug between individual rights and the public good
This article is a commentary. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of KTTN/KGOZ Radio, the staff, management or webmaster. (Missouri Independent) – It seems that getting control of the coronavirus has brought front and center the question: When should an individual’s right […]
Audio: St. Joseph School District to require students to wear masks when they return to the classroom on August 23
Students in Pre-K-12, staff, and visitors will be required to wear masks indoors in the St. Joseph School District beginning August 23, 2021, the first day of school for the district, regardless of vaccination status. Masks will not be required outdoors. Following presentations and discussion, the St. Joseph Board of Education voted 5 […]
Missouri seeks to boost prizes in local vaccine incentive program
(Missouri Independent) – Prizes awarded through a vaccine incentive program offered by local public health departments in Missouri may get boosted to $100-per-person under a new federal allowance. After previously rejecting Missouri’s proposal to exceed a $25 limit on prizes paid for with federal funding to incentivize immunizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently […]
Less than half of Missouri nursing home staff vaccinated, reviving fear of lockdowns
(Missouri Independent) – Many of the staff and residents in Shunda Whitfield’s St. Louis County nursing home were sick before they even realized what was going on. It was April 2020, and masks weren’t yet standard practice. Little was known about COVID before it swept through nursing homes, and as a certified nursing assistant, Whitfield […]
Audio: Hatfield expects decision in Missouri Medicaid expansion lawsuit case in a few business days
Missouri’s Solicitor General says the state Department of Social Services needs two months to implement voter-approved Medicaid expansion. D. John Sauer made his comments Friday to Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem, saying DSS needs more employees and computer upgrades for implementation. Attorney Chuck Hatfield, who represents the three low-income women suing Missouri, disagrees. […]
Missouri agency begins implementation of new law to regulate unlicensed boarding schools
(Missouri Independent) – Unlicensed youth residential facilities across Missouri are expected to submit materials notifying the state of their existence by mid-October, but background checks for facility staff required under a new law likely won’t be completed by that time. That’s because the Department of Social Services (DSS) is still working to make hires in […]
Life Options Green Hills Executive Director Rachael Brothers speaks to members of Trenton Rotary
Life Options Green Hills Executive Director Rachael Brothers spoke at the Trenton Rotary Club meeting on August 5th. She said the center in Trenton has a goal of being the client’s “first choice for information” regarding pregnancy decisions. The facility opened in July of 2020 and has served 67 women and six men from the […]
Audio: Cole County judge expected to issue final order on Missouri Medicaid expansion today
We’ll learn new details Friday in Jefferson City about how Missouri will proceed with voter-approved Medicaid expansion. The Missouri Supreme Court’s 14-page ruling includes a conclusion, which requires Friday’s hearing in Cole County Circuit Court. “For the reasons set forth above, the circuit court’s judgment is affirmed only insofar as it overruled the […]
Missouri receives $1.3 billion payment of American Rescue Plan funds
Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick announced the State of Missouri has received $1,342,648,065.40 in funds allocated to the State by the American Rescue Plan. Missouri’s full allocation is $2,685,296,130.80. Under the American Rescue Plan, all Missouri counties, regardless of population and metropolitan cities with a population of over 50,000, are eligible to receive their allocated […]
New Missouri law mandates private space and break times for breastfeeding teachers
(Missouri Independent) – Eight months after her son was born, Webster Groves High School teacher Jaime Adamski broke down in tears at her doctor’s office. Her breast milk had declined significantly since she had gone back to work. “I was depressed, angry, frustrated,” she said. “I felt like I was not a good enough mother […]
North Central Missouri College Athletic Director, Nathan Gamet, presents program at Rotary meeting
North Central Missouri College Athletic Director and Ketcham Community Center Director, Nathan Gamet, presented the program at the Trenton Rotary Club meeting on July 29. Gamet talked about his work as a college basketball referee, which was a job he got after leaving college coaching while in Oklahoma. Gamet currently works games in NCAA Division 2 […]
Josh Hawley urges Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in Mississippi abortion case
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley joined with two of his GOP colleagues on Monday to file an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Hawley, a Yale Law School graduate, and former Missouri attorney general, has said before that he […]
Missouri Supreme Court rules voter-approved Medicaid expansion is constitutional
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri must expand Medicaid to 275,000 eligible people who were expecting coverage under a constitutional amendment that took effect July 1, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In a unanimous opinion, the court overturned a trial court ruling that the amendment, passed in August 2020 was unconstitutional because it may increase the state’s cost for […]
Drug distributors Johnson and Johnson reach settlement in opioid case with state of Missouri
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt today announced that his office has received a term sheet from Johnson and Johnson and multiple distributors (McKesson, Amerisource Bergen, and Cardinal Health), setting the stage for the largest victim-centric settlements the State of Missouri has ever seen and tentatively securing roughly just over half a billion dollars of funding […]
Vaccine hesitancy in Missouri is more complicated than just party affiliation
This article is a commentary. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of KTTN/KGOZ Radio, staff, management, or webmaster. (Missouri Independent) – No doubt, what is happening to sections of our state is absolutely heartbreaking. Currently, the Delta variant of COVID-19 is […]