health insurance

There’s a push in Missouri, Kansas and Washington, D.C., to restrict foreign ownership of farmland, and growing tensions between the U.S. and China are a big reason why. Plus: States like Kansas and Missouri put a hard cap on the amounts that juries can award in non-economic damages for medical malpractice cases, but who does that actually help?

Most Midwest states, including Missouri and Kansas, have a cap on the amount that juries can award in non-economic damages for medical malpractice cases. But some question whether caps help — or hurt — those seeking justice for medical errors.

A report from an advocacy group reviewed 2,000 hospitals across the county and found only a quarter were fully complying with the federal hospital price transparency rules. In Kansas it's even less.

Enrollment in Medicaid hit a record high in Missouri in part because states weren’t allowed to kick people off during the coronavirus pandemic — but that changes soon, threatening health insurance for hundreds of thousands of residents. Plus: Across the Midwest, statewide weather monitors that provide critical weather data are threatened by a lack of stable funding.

Insurers, employers, taxpayers and other consumers will all be affected as drugmakers move these products to the commercial market in May. How much you'll pay depends on your health insurance.

The federal government barred states from kicking anyone off Medicaid during the coronavirus pandemic but, when those protections expire this spring, patients will need to renew their coverage. Advocates and health officials worry that eligible people could drop off the rolls.

Since the federal public health emergency was declared in March 2020, states have been barred from removing enrollees from Medicaid, in exchange for enhanced federal funds. That pause on conducting eligibility redeterminations will end April 1.

Child care businesses are struggling to recruit new employees and retain staff. The Missouri chamber is touting its Chamber Benefit Plan, a novel health insurance project, to lower health insurance costs for providers and entice them to offer coverage to their employees.

A new report released Wednesday found the rate of uninsured children in Missouri stabilized between 2019 and 2021. But those gains could be in jeopardy when the federal COVID emergency declaration ends next year.

A Missouri lawmaker has already filed a bill to extend post-childbirth Medicaid coverage past its current two month cutoff. Other conservative-led states are considering similar legislation.

Missouri on average took 41 days to process a Medicaid application in September for the eligibility group which includes low-income children, pregnant people, families and adults.

Enrollment is open for the Affordable Care Act Marketplace and some rules have been changed to help more workers get coverage for their families.