(Missouri Independent) – Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri is calling for the Biden administration to intervene to block the state’s new emergency regulation that abortion advocates contend could cut off Medicaid funding for its clinics around the state. Without federal action, Planned Parenthood said it may need to turn to the courts. […]
Tag: health insurance
Grundy County Health Department Board of Trustees discusses “Test to Stay” and updated COVID guidelines
Updated Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and Department of Health and Senior Services guidance was discussed at the Grundy County Health Department Board of Trustees on October 13th. The board also accepted a draft audit report for 2019 and 2020. Other than board members, a few health department employees and community members attended. […]
Jamesport City Council accepts employee health insurance bid
The Jamesport City Council on October 11 accepted an offer from Blue Cross and Blue Shield for employee health insurance. This was after a discussion on the lack of options available. City Clerk Shelley Page reports the insurance will cost $387.70 more in total per month than the previous plan for the two city employees. […]
Only 4300 are covered of the 17,000 applicants in the 1st week of Medicaid expansion registration.
(Missouri Independent) – Roughly 4,300 Missourians eligible for health care under Medicaid expansion have been enrolled, a top Missouri Medicaid official said Thursday. That figure represents a little over a quarter of the more than 17,000 applications the state has received since it began accepting applications for Medicaid expansion coverage in August, the Centers for […]
There is still time to apply to become a trooper with the Missouri State Highway Patrol
The Patrol is encouraging qualified individuals of all backgrounds to apply and will offer testing at nine different locations in Missouri. Those who successfully complete testing will be eligible to continue in the selection process for the 115th Recruit Class, scheduled to begin training on July 5, 2022. The application deadline is January 15, 2022. To […]
Missouri has enrolled 4,300 people in expanded Medicaid program
(Missouri Independent) – Roughly 4,300 Missourians eligible for health care under Medicaid expansion have been enrolled, a top Missouri Medicaid official said Thursday. That figure represents a little over a quarter of the more than 17,000 applications the state has received since it began accepting applications for Medicaid expansion coverage in August, the Centers for […]
Grundy County Health Department to hold multiple flu shot clinics
The Grundy County Health Department will hold flu vaccine clinics on Friday, October 8, and Friday, October 15 from 9-1 and 2-4 pm. No appointment is needed. GCHD has a flu vaccine for all ages including the high-dose vaccine for people over age 65. Individuals are asked to bring their Medicare, Medicaid, or health insurance […]
USDA and HHS launch resource guide to help rural communities increase access to child care services
United States Department of Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Justin Maxson and Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development Katie Hamm today unveiled a joint resource guide (PDF, 3.5 MB) to help people in rural and Tribal communities increase access to child care services. “Access to quality, affordable […]
New report says “Restricting abortion access brings big financial trouble”
Limiting women’s access to abortion and other reproductive health care can have a devastating impact on state economies. According to new data from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, restrictions on the books in Nebraska cost the state $1 billion annually in lost income, productivity, and state revenues. Andi Curry Grubb, Nebraska state director for Planned […]
Audio: Missouri Farm Bureau President Garrett Hawkins addresses members at annual meeting in Trenton
Grundy County Farm Bureau members heard Missouri Farm Bureau President Garrett Hawkins addressed multiple topics at the county organization’s annual meeting in Trenton on September 9, 2021. One of the topics was climate change. Hawkins said he is tired of people “pointing fingers” at farmers and ranchers and saying they are the problem. […]
In court, drug middlemen fight to limit pharmacies insured patients can use
(Missouri Independent) – In the first test of a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, drug middlemen last week argued that federal law gives them a right to limit which pharmacies patients with health insurance can use — or at least make it more expensive if patients get their medicine at a shop that isn’t preferred […]
Missouri will become the last state to enforce federal mental health parity act
(Missouri Independent) – Under a new state law that went into effect late last month, Missouri will become the final state to enforce a federal law designed to ensure mental health care is covered by insurance providers the same as treatments for physical ailments. The provisions were included in House Bill 604, an omnibus insurance bill […]
Meatpacking plants have long relied on immigrant labor. Some now turn to foreign visa workers
(Missouri Independent) – Colored hard hats distinguish different roles and jobs at Seaboard Foods, a major meatpacking plant in Guymon, Oklahoma. Senior management have green. Supervisors wear dark blue. Foreign workers on visas don yellow-green. But Seaboard is part of a small but growing trend in the meatpacking industry, which already largely relied on an […]
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 […]
Hy-Vee announces launch of “Hy-Vee Medicare Aisle”
Today’s announcement from their corporate office in West Des Moines involves the launch of Hy-Vee Medicare Aisle, an agency dedicated to serving Medicare beneficiaries across an eight-state region. This is the newest offering to Hy-Vee Financial Services fueled by Midwest Heritage — Hy-Vee’s banking, insurance and investments subsidiary. Hy-Vee Medicare Aisle customers can select from […]
Families urged to catch up on kids’ doctor visits
The pandemic paused many facets of life, and a new report says wellness checkups for children were among them. With school resuming this fall, research from the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute urges Missourians to get kids caught up on preventive care. Mercy Hospital of St. Louis pediatrician Dr. Maya Moody is president-elect of the Missouri chapter […]
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 […]
Bob Griffin, longest-serving Missouri House speaker, has died at age 85
(Missouri Independent) – Bob F. Griffin, who served as speaker of the Missouri House for 15 years until he was forced to resign in the face of a federal criminal investigation, died Wednesday in Columbia. He was 85. Griffin was the longest-serving speaker in the state’s history. During his tenure as speaker from 1981 to 1996, the […]
Trenton City Council addresses complaints on residential trash pickup, approve bid for water plant
After discussing trash service complaints received by councilmen and the staff of Trenton City Hall, the Trenton City Council on Monday night requested the owner of Rapid Removal Disposal to attend an upcoming meeting of the council. Administrator Ron Urton, who brought up the topic, said the city does the residential billing for Rapid Removal […]
Missouri children and families to benefit from Child Tax Credit expansion
Missouri is ranked 30th among states for overall child wellbeing in a new report, and advocates for kids and families say the pandemic has underscored the need for strong supports. The Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count Data Book shows 17% of Missouri children lived in poverty in 2019, though that number was down from 2010, and […]