A California-licensed homeopathic doctor was arrested for her alleged scheme to sell homeoprophylaxis (the controversial use of homeopathy as a preventive against serious infectious diseases) immunization pellets and to falsify COVID-19 vaccination cards by making it appear that customers had received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized Moderna vaccine. Juli A. Mazi, 41, of […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri will enter the new budget year with a record budget surplus and no restrictions on appropriations. The $35.6 billion budget includes rate increases for some Medicaid providers, higher funding for colleges and universities, and new mental health crisis centers. A few hours after lawmakers passed an extension of provider taxes vital to funding […]
(Missouri Independent) – Gov. Mike Parson gave lawmakers a deadline of noon Tuesday to strike a deal to renew medical provider taxes vital to funding Medicaid or accept responsibility for more than $700 million in cuts from the state budget that takes effect July 1. If not, the governor says he will freeze funding in Missouri’s […]
(Missouri Independent) – After obtaining some relief from lawmakers for revenue cuts likely from a change in the way Medicaid pays for outpatient services, Missouri hospitals are asking the courts for relief from a coming change in payments for inpatient care. The Missouri Hospital Association on Friday filed a lawsuit in Cole County alleging the Department of […]
Due to prosecutions and convictions obtained by the Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, four Missouri providers were added to the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s exclusion list, meaning that they are excluded from participating in all government healthcare programs. “My Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit works tirelessly to root out, […]
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) joined Senators Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and 17 other colleagues to introduce bipartisan legislation to set the United States Postal Service on a more sustainable financial footing and support the goal of providing long-term reliable service across the country. The bill strengthens transparency and accountability for Postal Service […]
Hy-Vee, Inc. announces today that all Hy-Vee pharmacy locations are now administering free COVID-19 vaccines to individuals ages 12 to 15, per the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recent approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for this age group. Hy-Vee has been offering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to individuals 16 […]
The Missouri Department of Social Services submitted a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services formally withdrawing its State Plan Amendments for MO HealthNet expansion. On August 4, 2020, Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment expanding MO HealthNet eligibility to individuals between 100 and 138 percent of the federal poverty level. However, the […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri will not expand Medicaid coverage to working-age adults on July 1 because lawmakers refused to include funding for the health care program in the state budget, Gov. Mike Parson announced Thursday. In a news release, Parson said the state was withdrawing documents submitted to the federal government necessary to add the approximately 275,000 […]
The Community Action Partnership of North Central Missouri provides various services in the Green Hills area. One of those services is the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps households in need with utilities. Executive Director Chris Small reports Community Action works with more than 40 utility vendors. Some of the vendors are municipal […]
Wright Memorial Hospital in Trenton is the only critical access hospital in the state of Missouri to receive a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The new ratings were released by CMS on April 28. There are 35 critical access hospitals in Missouri. The rating also places Wright Memorial in the […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri lawmakers must finish work on the fiscal 2022 budget by Friday. And while the biggest spending issue of the session, Medicaid expansion, is off the table, there are other big issues to resolve in the state-run health care program. One of the largest is whether to provide a cushion for hospitals that […]
U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Mark Warner (Va.) introduced legislation to prevent further financial instability for rural health clinics and safeguard the care they provide to underserved communities. The bipartisan Strengthening Rural Health Clinics Act of 2021 would make a technical fix to protect existing rural health clinics from a sudden and unexpected Medicare […]
The Sullivan County Health Department will hold a flu shot clinic on March 15th. Shots will be administered curbside at the health department in Milan from 8:30 to 4 o’clock. The health department notes someone who has received a COVID-19 vaccine must wait at least two weeks before getting an influenza vaccine. Attendees are asked […]
Today begins a special three month enrollment period for consumers to obtain health insurance through the federal marketplace. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid determined that the COVID-19 emergency presents exceptional circumstances in accessing health insurance and provides the special enrollment period through May 15th. Consumers who are eligible to apply and enroll are in […]
A Michigan woman was indicted on allegations that she intentionally misappropriated government funds that were designed to aid medical providers in the treatment of patients suffering from COVID-19 and used them for her own personal expenses. Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Saima Mohsin of […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services determined that the COVID-19 emergency presents exceptional circumstances for consumers in accessing health insurance and will provide a Special Enrollment Period for individuals and families to apply and enroll in the coverage they need. This SEP will be available to consumers in the 36 states served by Marketplaces […]
The Trenton Police Department has released tips for avoiding scams. It provides four signs to tell something is a scam. The first sign is that scammers pretend to be from an organization you know or claim to contact you on behalf of the government. They might use a real name, like the Social Security Administration, […]
The Sullivan County Health Department will hold an influenza vaccine clinic on January 15th by appointment only. Flu shots will be available at the health department of Milan from 8:30 to noon and 1 to 4 o’clock. Participants are asked to bring their Medicaid, Medicare, and insurance cards. Participants are also asked to wear a […]
A corporate executive has been ordered to serve 20 years in prison after his conviction related to falsely telling thousands of patients with long-term incurable diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, they had less than six months to live and subsequently enrolling them in hospice programs. A federal jury in McAllen, Texas, convicted Rodney […]
