Latest Health News from the Kansas Health Institute

GOP gubernatorial candidate Sam Brownback laid out five "measurable goals," he would stress if elected. He also promised more details of his "Road Map for Kansas," would be released during a campaign bus tour scheduled to begin Wednesday.

Pressed by federal officials to fix the problem of more than 13,000 backlogged applications for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, the Kansas Health Policy Authority has put together a plan to streamline the eligibility review process.

Kansas Department on Aging Secretary Martin Kennedy says it’s “fairly likely” he will have to start a waiting list for Medicaid-funded in-home services for the frail elderly, which would be the first time that has happened since 2002.

U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback’s gubernatorial campaign is expected to announce plans for a four-day, 32-city bus tour during a Monday press conference. The tour is scheduled to start Wednesday and finish in time for the State Fair. The candidate's views on health policies are to be made known somewhere along the journey.

Despite efforts by the Kansas Chamber and others to make the election something of a referendum on the recent state sales tax increase, voters handed more losses to those who voted against it.

The U.S. Senate today after long delay advanced a bill that will mean about $179 million in extended federal aid to Kansas. Speaker Pelosi announced the U.S. House will be called back from recess next week to work the measure, which has been pushed by Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson and governors from other states.

Kris Kobach turned illegal immigration and the rare problem of voter fraud into winnable issues in the three-way GOP primary for Secretary of State in elections that handed conservative Republicans some wins but also revealed little spurning of incumbents.

As a nation we're getting fatter and fatter and fatter, according to a new report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of states where 30 percent or more of the population is obese has increased, according to the new statistics, and most are in the South or Appalachia. But the obesity rate in Kansas also has been growing alarmingly and is now near 29 percent.

Mental health advocates are gathering data for a fall election campaign aimed at removing three words from the Kansas Constitution.

Native Americans continue to suffer higher incidence of disease than others. Heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes are now the leading deadly illnesses among American Indians. A new center at KU aims to deal with the health disparities and encourage more Native Americans to enter the health care professions.

The University of Kansas Medical Center has been awarded a five-year, $7.5 million grant to study and address health disparities facing American Indians.

Kansans with pre-existing conditions who have been unable to purchase affordable health insurance now have another option thanks to the federal health reform law.

Kansas Department on Aging officials say a bed tax on nursing homes will be less than initially projected and, in turn, will draw down fewer federal dollars.

Kansas Health Solutions CEO Michael Goldberg says health reform is sure to force changes in the state’s approach to underwriting mental health services.

With Congress poised to take August recess, the union that represents state workers in Kansas is urging members to contact U.S. senators to push for a vote on extended federal Medicaid assistance for states.