Tagged: health

By Elana Gordon

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Area health agencies are reminding eligible seniors and those with disabilities that now's the time to sign up or review their Medicare coverage. That's because Medicare's open enrollment period ends a lot earlier this year.

People typically have until the end of this month to enroll in or make changes to their Medicare plans. But this year's deadline is in two days.

"Midnight, December 7th," says Carol Behan, director of CLAIM, Missouri's free Medicare counseling program.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City's smoking ban has had little, if any, impact on business at area eating and drinking establishments. That's according to a new study, which looked at sales data before and after the ban was enacted in 2008.

John Taurus, an economics professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago, coauthored the study. He says any changes in sales that did take place were related to the overall economic climate.

Salina, KS – Atrazine is one of the most widely used weed-killers in the country. But farm fields aren't the only place the chemical is commonly found. It's also the most widely-detected pesticide in drinking water, especially in the Midwest. With some environmental groups calling for a ban on Atrazine, the Environmental Protection Agency is currently re-evaluating its safety. Kansas Public Radio's Bryan Thomspon reports.

Kansas City, Mo. – About 1.6 million Missourians struggle to understand information about their health. As a result, area health leaders are launching a new initiative to improve health literacy across the state.

The nonprofit group, Health Literacy Missouri, is leading the project. Arthur Culbert is the group's president and says misunderstandings about health care are far too common.

"How many times have you seen a doctor and you walk out and it's like, 'I'm not really sure what he said,'" Culbert says.

Kansas City, Mo. – Federal health officials arrive at the Banister Federal Complex today, the latest part of an ongoing investigation of possible hazards inside the General Services Administration's (GSA's) side of the complex. It's the first time health officials have been called in.