Latest Health News from the Kansas Health Institute

Three Kansas programs have been awarded federal grants for their rural health work.

U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran says he’s still bothered by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. “I think it creates many more problems than it solves," he said, "and I would love to replace it with something with a greater focus on reducing the underlying costs of health care.”

The Kansas Insurance Department will use a $1 million federal grant to strengthen the staff and the analytical systems that it uses to review rate increases filed by health insurance companies, according to Commissioner Sandy Praeger.

When Congress passed major health reform legislation earlier this year, it approved billions of dollars in spending over the next several years for prevention and public health programs. But the funds are now back on the line.

The Kansas Farm Bureau and its national counterpart are among the business groups fighting a new tax reporting requirement that was included in federal health reform. But Farm Bureau spokesmen said their quarrel isn't with health reform per se.

In a message delivered to legislative leaders today, Gov. Mark Parkinson said Kansas will receive about $40 million or $50 million more in federal aid than the Legislature anticipated when it crafted the current year budget.

A months-long effort to draft a plan for a Kansas health information exchange is nearing completion and will be delivered to federal officials for review by the end of the month.

A Sedgwick County District Court judge on Thursday took no action to end a temporary restraining order that is preventing the new statewide smoking ban from being enforced here.

Annual research funding at the University of Kansas Medical Center for the first time has surpassed $100 million, officials said today.

A new federal aid package likely means $179 million for Kansas but whether that will entirely fill a $131 million state budget hole depends on what strings are attached. State officials continue to study the details.

Attorney General Steve Six has asked the Kansas Court of Appeals to knock down the decision of a Shawnee County District Court judge to temporarily exempt some private clubs from the statewide public smoking ban that became effective in most places on July 1.

HMS, a New York-based firm that specializes in cost control and dollar recoveries for government health programs, has been awarded a new contract by the Kansas Health Policy Authority to provide Medicaid subrogation and estate recovery services.

Here is a story about a famous Chinese doctor who was greeted with gifts by his grateful patients and was named the greatest doctor of his time.

If elected governor, Democrat Tom Holland says he would use lottery dollars to expand job-training programs. He also would give school districts more leeway to raise local property taxes, eliminate ineffective tax breaks, and use a “rainy day fund” to avoid cuts in social services.

A $1.2 million federal bonus payment will be used to help trim the backlog of about 16,000 HealthWave applications pending at the Kansas Health Policy Authority's eligibility clearinghouse, officials said today.