rural health

When lawmakers return to Jefferson City in June to debate Gov. Kehoe's plan to finance stadium projects for the Chiefs and Royals in Kansas City, more than 60 groups slated for funding want him to revisit spending for items spiked in the Missouri House.

Federal lawmakers are considering big cuts to the health care program Medicaid. Some Kansans fear they’ll lose coverage or benefits.

The federal spending cuts proposed by the Republican-controlled Congress could lead to tens of thousands of jobs lost across Missouri and Kansas health care systems and food suppliers, a new study found.

Breastfeeding is more of a challenge for first-time mothers in rural Missouri compared to those in urban and suburban areas, according to a new University of Missouri study.

The Joint Economic Committee - Minority report released Thursday by Congressional Democrats projects Republican tax cut proposals could mean a one-third cut to Medicaid nationwide. Children, the elderly and rural residents stand to lose the most.

Black Kansans die at higher rates of seven of nine leading causes of death than all other Kansans. Advocates say now is an important time to focus on these disparities.

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.

The debate in Abilene, Kansas, could be a precursor to other communities considering the move because members of the incoming Trump administration are advocating to get rid of fluoride in drinking water. Experts say dental health is at stake.

In Missouri, decades of laws restricted access to abortion even before lawmakers passed a near-total ban. Abortion figures to be particularly difficult to access for women in rural parts of the state.

Fighting fires has evolved, but federal safety regulations haven’t changed for nearly half a century. Now the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed new safety standards. It's great news for career and paid firefighters, but volunteer departments say the new rules could bog them down with expensive and irrelevant regulations.

Missouri quietly restricted its policy for transgender residents to change the gender markers on their state IDs. For some people, it was the last straw. Plus: How Children’s Mercy researchers are working to make genetic testing more accessible in rural Kansas.

Missouri has some of the highest rates of tobacco usage in the country, the lowest cigarette tax and some of the most lax smoking policies. Some rural health departments and activists are pushing their own policies to change those statistics.