Elana Gordon

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that only half of Americans identified as having had Hepatitis C ever follow-up with additional screening and treatment. But that’s only part of the problem, according to Bruce Burkett of the Missouri Hepatitis C Alliance. Nearly three in four people who have the disease don’t even know it.

Physicians Assistants, or PAs, may soon have more opportunities to practice in Missouri. A bill headed to the Governor’s desk would provide more flexibility in how and where they provide care.Physicians Assistants are trained health workers who practice medicine under the supervision of a doctor. Their training is shorter than that of a doctor, but they do exams, prescribe drugs and diagnose and treat illnesses.

The director of Missouri’s Medicaid program, Dr. Ian McCaslin, has left. 

More than 100 employees at Liberty Hospital will be out of a job by the end of next week. The hospital says the layoffs are a response to a perfect storm in health care right now. That includes reduced Medicare and Medicaid payments, changes in the way hospitals will be reimbursed for care under the federal health law and increasing demands for charity care as individual health insurance costs go up. 

You may have seen him on the Plaza. Or maybe it was near City Hall. Or perhaps at Arrowhead Stadium on game day.

Where ever that may be, Michael Wheeler is certainly hard to miss.

The longtime runner and Kansas City resident wakes up each day and suits up for his long jogs in a rather unusual and flashy outfit: a superman-style cape and t-shirt.

What does it mean to love somebody no matter who they are or who they become?

A common pledge couples make to each other is to be faithful “in sickness and in health until death do us part.” That pledge is put to a major test for couples where one partner changes his or her gender identity.

Una Nowling and Fiona Nowling share their story of getting married and working through the gender identity transition.

Missouri ranks among the bottom third of states when it comes to its overall well-being. Meanwhile, the Kansas City region has room for improvement. That’s according to the latest data from the polling group, Gallup.

A heated feud over the fate of North Kansas City Hospital may soon be coming to a close. Hospital and city leaders are meeting Friday in hopes of resolving their differences. Moreover, recently passed state legislation and newly elected local officials appear to have diffused the controversy.  

During any given week, local hip-hop artist Les Izmore may be found free-styling in the Crossroads, fronting an 18 piece afro-beat/funk dance band, or opening for big acts coming through, like Kendrick Lamar and next week, Talib Kweli.

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has been on an all-out tour of state universities this week, calling on lawmakers to extend a sales tax and maintain funding for higher education in the coming budget.

After the passing of the Affordable Care Act, confusion about the future of health insurance in our country has become the norm. But as the legislation comes into play in the next year, everyone from private health insurance companies to employers providing health care to their employees need to be well versed on the upcoming changes.

This week, upwards of 1,000 medical professionals and thought leaders are converging on the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. for the third annual TEDMed summit. It’s a spin-off of TED - short for Technology, Entertainment, Design – which features talks and performances from the group’s biannual conferences centering around the general theme of “ideas worth spreading.” 

Medicaid, the public health insurance program for low income and disabled residents, is no small chunk of change in Missouri. It comprises a huge portion of the state’s budget (more on that in Part 2). It also covers a lot of people: about one in ten residents.

So, to expand or not to expand Medicaid?

Kansas health officials are trying to assure local health groups that a controversial bill dealing with infectious diseases needed an update to response protocols for occupational exposures. Some HIV advocates, however, aren’t completely sold.

What exactly is the role of legal documents, like a power of attorney, in a health care setting, especially if a person is not related to the patient? An incident at a local hospital last week, which has struck a nerve with some LGBT groups and gained some internet buzz, spurred the question.