health insurance

Missouri’s share of children being disenrolled from Medicaid is third-highest among the states that report age breakouts. Nearly 40,000 kids total lost coverage — mostly for paperwork reasons — and it's not yet clear how many were able to cycle back or move to another program.

Low-income people who are disabled or over 65 — or both — qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. In 2022, that included 203,000 people in Missouri and 75,000 in Kansas. A bipartisan group of lawmakers agree: the two insurance programs are failing the country's most vulnerable patients.

Eloise Reynolds, a resident of Olivette, Missouri, encountered a perplexing reality in medical billing: Providers can come after patients for more money well after a bill has been paid.

Eloise Reynolds, a resident of Olivette, Missouri, encountered a perplexing reality in medical billing: Providers can come after patients for more money well after a bill has been paid.

Diabetic people in Kansas 3rd Congressional District are projected to have saved an average of $620 on insulin in the first year since the federal government approved a new law.

June was the first month of eligibility reviews for Missouri's roughly 1.5 million Medicaid enrollees. Children accounted for half of all the state's Medicaid terminations, mostly for procedural reasons.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Missouri and Kansas could lose their Medicaid coverage anytime now because states have, once again, resumed eligibility checks after pandemic-era federal protections expired.

Mortality rates for Kansas City mothers and infants, especially in Black and brown communities, are well above the national average. So local groups are stepping outside the traditional health care system to bridge the gap. Plus: The leaders of a small southeast Kansas hospital say the only way to keep it from closing is to cut back on services.

Policy experts say one way to help close the racial gap in maternal health outcomes is to ensure people on Medicaid don’t lose coverage two months after pregnancy.

A federal judge ruled Thursday that insurers should not have to cover some preventive care screenings, including for lung and skin cancer.

A judge who has previously ruled against the Affordable Care Act struck down a portion of the law that requires insurers to cover some health screenings, pregnancy-related care and HIV-preventive medication. It's not clear yet how it will affect people in Kansas City, but advocates say it could deepen health disparities.

A federal judge in Texas who previously ruled to dismantle the Affordable Care Act struck down a key part of the law that requires most insurers cover some preventive care such as cancer screenings and HIV prevention drugs. Opponents say the ruling jeopardizes preventive care for millions of Americans.