KHI News Service specializes in coverage of health issues facing Kansans. It is an independent news gathering agency with a staff of four reporters that exists within the Kansas Health Institute. KHI News Service reports are made available free of charge to various other news outlets, including all members of the Kansas Press Association.
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House GOP leaders today released their plan for a balanced budget without tax increases, saying it would not require "draconian cuts." The plan relies heavily on reduced spending for highways and K-12 schools. It also counts on an influx of federal dollars for Medicaid that has not yet been finalized by Congress.
0 | Mar. 19, 2010 |
The head of a statewide consumer coalition is expecting Sunday’s U.S. House vote on health reform legislation to be “razor thin.”
0 | Mar. 18, 2010 |
Insurance lobbyists renewed their opposition Thursday to a bill that would require health insurers to cover oral chemotherapies the same way they do intravenous chemotherapies.
0 | Mar. 18, 2010 |
It's not clear what will happen to federal health reform legislation that would require chain restaurants to label menu items, but the Kansas Legislature won't take any action on the measure this year.
0 | Mar. 18, 2010 |
A House-passed bill to expand a tax incentive for businesses that create or retain jobs in the state has been rewritten by a Senate committee to limit its cost and avoid a veto.
0 | Mar. 18, 2010 |
Plans to increase taxes on tobacco, alcohol, sugary drinks and general sales were each rejected by the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee. Members even shot down a bill that would benefit retailers for fear it would be a vehicle for amendments on the Senate floor.
0 | Mar. 18, 2010 |
About 300 people from across Kansas came to Topeka as part of Mental Health Advocacy Day.
0 | Mar. 18, 2010 |
House GOP leaders today released their plan for a balanced budget without tax increases, saying it would not require "draconian cuts." The plan relies heavily on reduced spending for highways and K-12 schools. It also counts on an influx of federal dollars for Medicaid that has not yet been finalized by Congress.
0 | Mar. 17, 2010 |
A new proposal in the Kansas House would allow some bars to permit their customers to smoke indoors.
0 | Mar. 17, 2010 |
The Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee voted Wednesday to table a House-passed bill that would have exposed welfare recipients to random drug testing.
0 | Mar. 17, 2010 |
Busloads of beverage workers helped fill the hearing room and the hallways of the Statehouse.
0 | Mar. 18, 2010 |
Insurance lobbyists renewed their opposition Thursday to a bill that would require health insurers to cover oral chemotherapies the same way they do intravenous chemotherapies.
0 | Mar. 09, 2010 |
“My mother had a habit of leaving me – when I was 10 years old -- with my four brothers and sisters while my dad was in rehab for a week or two at a time,” Rachel Perkins, 19, said Monday during testimony before the House Federal and State Affairs Committee.
0 | Mar. 18, 2010 |
About 300 people from across Kansas came to Topeka as part of Mental Health Advocacy Day.
1 | Mar. 02, 2010 |
Medical providers and others are anxiously waiting to see what the Kansas Supreme Court will do about the state's $250,000 cap on awards for pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases.
1 | Feb. 16, 2010 |
“We’re not reaching the people we need to be reaching with our existing programs,” said Steve Denny, who runs an outreach program for seniors at the Independence-based Four County Mental Health Center.
1 | Feb. 02, 2010 |
Legislators this week are holdings hearings on a proposal that would mean stricter standards for some home day care centers.
1 | Jan. 25, 2010 |
Last year, nine of the state’s 27 community mental health centers spent more money than they took in.
1 | Jan. 11, 2010 |
Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, unveiled key details of a budget plan that calls for raising the state sales tax one cent and boosting tobacco taxes to forestall deeper cuts to schools and to roll back cuts in Medicaid provider rates. But Republican leaders said it would be a bad idea to raise taxes during a recession.
1 | Dec. 21, 2009 |
Nine states have been awarded almost $73 million in federal bonus payments for enrolling more children in their state-run health insurance programs. But Kansas wasn't among them despite expectations by some.
1 | Dec. 21, 2009 |
Gov. Mark Parkinson says he is ready to push for tax increases instead of continued budget cuts to core state services.
1 | Dec. 21, 2009 |
There may be many legitimate criticisms of the health reform bill expected to win approval this week in the U.S. Senate. But one of the most often heard — that it does little or nothing to contain costs — is off the mark, according to a lawyer involved in the congressional negotiations.
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March 19, 2010
In their push to pass a sweeping health care overhaul this weekend, House Democrats unveiled a package of legislative fixes to lure undecided or opposed members of their party to the "yes" category.
March 19, 2010
People who have "gold-plated" plans often have low deductibles and excellent benefits that cover even the most expensive treatments. As House and Senate negotiators work to reconcile the differences in their health bills, a tax on these policies could be included in the final legislation.
March 19, 2010
Writing in one column, Chuck Donovan notes that roughly a dozen members of Congress have insisted they won't vote for any measure that provides public subsidies for abortion beyond those allowed by the Hyde Amendment. Meanwhile, Jessica Arons writes about the changing status quo on federal abortion funding.
March 19, 2010
KHN's daily installment of health policy humor.
March 19, 2010
Democrats unveiled a health overhaul reconciliation bill the Congressional Budget Office says will cost $940 billion but also cut the deficit by $138 billion over the next 10 years.
March 21, 2010
As one superbug seems to be fading as a threat in hospitals, another is on the rise, a new study suggests.
March 21, 2010
In January 2008, John Ross had his annual physical. He felt good. He knew he’d get some grief about his cholesterol but he was working on that.
March 21, 2010
Parents and children often dread having the “birds and bees” conversation.
March 20, 2010
Victory within reach, President Barack Obama rallied House Democrats today for a final health care push, and party leaders appeared confident they had overcome a flare-up over abortion funding restrictions in the legislation.
March 19, 2010
resident Barack Obama and Democratic leaders lobbied intensively for historic health care legislation Friday, striving to resolve a last-minute dispute over Medicare while gaining another precious “yes” 48 hours ahead of a climactic vote.
March 20, 2010
The percentage of tuberculosis cases around the world resistant to two standard drugs remains low -- about 4 percent -- but is three to six times as high in the vast area that once encompassed the Soviet Union, according to a report released this week by the World Health Organization.
March 18, 2010
More than 3 percent of District residents older than 12 are living with HIV or AIDS, an epidemic rate of infection that continues to worry city health officials. But a report on the disease released Wednesday offered hope: New AIDS cases and AIDS-related deaths have dropped steadily in the past f...
March 16, 2010
Michelle Obama on Tuesday called on corporate food giants such as Coca-Cola, General Mills and Kraft Foods to step up efforts to produce more healthful food and then market that, rather than junk food, to children.
March 17, 2010
An obscure parliamentary maneuver favored by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) suddenly ignited Tuesday as the latest tinder in the year-long partisan strife over reshaping the nation's health-care system, triggering debate over the strategy's legitimacy and political wisdom.
March 16, 2010
When Claudette Broyles tries to describe to friends how she feels, she likens herself to a balloon on a string, tied to a post.
March 21, 2010
President Obama met with Democrats on Capitol Hill to discuss health insurance reform legislation on Saturday.
March 21, 2010
PRESIDENT OBAMA“We are this close to the summit of the mountain. We need to try one more time.” The president has told associates that health care will be his legacy.
March 20, 2010
March 20, 2010
UNLIMITED ACCESSDr. John Muney examined Judith Rodrigues at his office in Queens, one of five across the city.
March 20, 2010
Larry Minnix, chief of a nursing home trade group, in front of “All American,” a painting by Lamberto Hechanova, a New York nursing home resident.
March 2, 2010
With "meaningful use" on the mind of every HIMSS10 attendee, Mark Leavitt, MD, CCHIT chair, presented at an EHR Certification Town Hall.
March 8, 2010
A Washington-based advocacy group has collected consumer and employer perspectives on the top 10 arguments concerning meaningful use. And with only a week left before the public comment period on meaningful use comes to a close, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is urging the public to weigh in with their own thoughts.
March 2, 2010
David Blumenthal, MD, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, surprised a packed hall of attendees Tuesday afternoon at HIMSS10 with the release of the notice of proposed rulemaking on certification. Blumenthal said he wasn't aware that the rule would be unveiled that day, but as hundreds gathered to hear the latest news from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, he agreed the timing was right.
March 12, 2010
While EHRs are increasingly essential for healthcare providers, their efficacy can be constricted by the nature of their design, their use and the interpretation of data.
March 9, 2010
A new survey of hospital nurses found that they estimate spending one quarter of their 12-hour shift on indirect patient care, with paperwork taking up much of the rest of their time.
Being underinsured means someone has inadequate health insurance coverage to address the financial expenses associated with health care services, resulting in financial strain, medical debt, or postponing needed care due to cost.
