insurance

New Madrid, Missouri, was terrorized by its fault line in the early 19th century, and earthquakes are still the region's claim to fame. But these days, earthquake insurance is prohibitively expensive.

Information is emerging about how many people in north St. Louis did not have homeowners insurance when storms ripped through the region on May 16. Still, the data is just an early estimate, against the backdrop of a rising number of homeowners around the country who don't have policies.

If you are among those who are without coverage and sustained damage to your property, the Midwest Newsroom invites you to share your story with us.

Congressional Republicans are looking to cut at least $880 billion from a pool of federal funding that includes Medicaid — and the program is likely to take a major hit. A previous budget crunch in Missouri offers a window into how cuts ripple through people's lives.

U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison, an Ozark Republican, also took a negative view of town hall meetings, claiming that "only political nutjobs show up.” His comments come after several GOP lawmakers faced angry crowds criticizing federal job reductions.

MO HealthNet covers more than 1.3 million, or one in five people in the state, across different eligibility groups. The majority of Missouri's Medicaid funding, including almost all of its expansion money, comes from the federal government.

The Republican-sponsored constitutional amendment would require able-bodied Medicaid participants ages 19 to 49 to prove they are working as a condition for receiving health coverage. Tens of thousands of patients lost coverage in other states that implemented similar requirements.

Pharmacists in Kansas say pharmacy benefit managers, a group that helps determine what medications insurance covers and how much they cost, are choking them out of business.

New Madrid, Missouri, seems obsessed with the fault lines under its surface, but few residents in the area have insurance in case a big earthquake hits again. Plus: Some places in southwest Kansas may only have 25 years of water left. One proposal to help would take river water from near Kansas City and move it to western Kansas.

Poverty, job loss and high insurance costs have led to a lack of earthquake insurance in New Madrid, Missouri — a town with a big fault and bigger problems.

Valentine residents complain that the insurance company has been hollowing out the neighborhood for decades and leaving them in the dark. Kansas City Life said its plans for a future mixed-use development are not ready to be made public.

Pharmacy closures nationwide are leaving some communities at risk, including in the Kansas City area. Experts say pharmacy benefit managers are what's driving drugstores out of business.