Health

Communities of color here face a burden of medical debt that dwarfs what white people experience, and what people of color experience in many other states

In recent weeks, the BA5 variant has accounted for almost half of all COVID cases in Missouri. But state data doesn’t show how many people have contracted the BA.5 variant or include indicators like age, race or gender.

A coalition of religious groups, conservative think tanks, and Republican attorneys general — including in Missouri — have chipped away at local and state authority, altering how the nation can respond during health crises.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said he has no plans to call a special legislative session to protect access to contraceptives and address ectopic pregnancies. Democratic leaders called on the governor to hold a special session now that the state has banned nearly all abortions.

COVID cases have increased in Kansas City by nearly 40% in the last two weeks, a surge attributed to the highly contagious variant BA.5.

Dr. Colleen P. McNicholas, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, said Missouri’s ban on abortions has led doctors and pharmacists to deny patients vital medications. She said patients who need lifesaving abortions are now at risk, because doctors have to wait for guidance from lawyers.

The state and its partners at the University of Missouri are monitoring 112 sites to see if viral particles are increasing and if new COVID variants are emerging in the region's wastewater.

Missouri's abortion ban includes only one exception for cases of medical emergency, which the state defines as “serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.” But medical experts say the law lacks nuance.

The City Council on Thursday also passed a resolution declaring reproductive rights to be "fundamental human rights."

Missouri's governor clarified that "contraceptives are not abortions" and are not affected by the new abortion ban. But Saint Luke's said the law's ambiguity "continues to cause grave concern and will require careful monitoring."

Premiums for health plans through private-sector jobs in Kansas shot up nearly 40% from 2010 to 2020. That’s twice as fast as general inflation.

Derges, an assistant physician, was elected in November 2020 to represent Christian County. Missouri law requires her to forfeit her office once she is sentenced.