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Black maternal mortality in Kansas now exceeds neighboring states, new research finds, and the state saw one of the greatest increases in mortality for Indigenous mothers.
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For two years, federal funds have been available for states to extend postpartum health care from two months to a full year for moms on Medicaid. The policy is popular across the Midwest, with Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska all adopting an extension. Iowa remains hesitant.
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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.
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When a woman and her unborn son were killed in the course of her Missouri Department of Transportation job, her family sued for wrongful death — but the department argued they're shielded from liability becauseher fetus counts as an employee.
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Between 2012 and 2016, 662 babies in the Kansas City metro area died — about 11 every month. Maternal mortality rates are also higher than the national average, but some Kansas City groups are trying to improve both.
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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.
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A federal judge ruled Thursday that insurers should not have to cover some preventive care screenings, including for lung and skin cancer.
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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.
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Missouri has a maternal mortality rate of 25.2 deaths per 100,000 live births, higher than the national average. Health professionals worry that the state’s near-total abortion ban will make pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period even more dangerous.
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Some Republican lawmakers in Kansas want to give millions of taxpayer dollars to crisis pregnancy centers, controversial clinics that try to discourage women from getting abortions. Critics say they're dangerous and misleading people at their most vulnerable.
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While abortion was almost completely banned in Missouri after the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June, several Republican lawmakers are already working to further restrict access to reproductive health care.
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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.