The water department is preparing for in-person inspections of water lines, starting in two northeast neighborhoods this spring. Lead pipes and some galvanized pipes have to be removed.
Suzanne King
Suzanne King is The Beacon’s health care reporter and has covered the beat since November of 2023. Previously she covered the telecommunications and technology industries for The Kansas City Star and the Kansas City Business Journal. She also covered local government, crime and education at newspapers in western Massachusetts and upstate New York. She grew up in Missouri and has lived in Kansas City for almost 30 years. Suzanne holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Boston University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Posted inHealth
‘Everyone is worried’: Battle brews over how Kansas City spends health levy dollars
The property tax that generates about $70 million annually is meant to benefit the city’s poorest patients. It’s about to come under closer scrutiny.
Posted inHealth
‘It’s constant whiplash’: Kansas City organizations see mental health grants canceled one day and restored the next
Behavioral health organizations that stood to lose critical funding still worry about future cuts they say could devastate patients and wipeout programs.
Posted inHealth
Why 30 hospitals in Kansas and 12 in Missouri are at risk of closure
A new study of rural hospitals finds that Kansas has more on the brink of shutting down than any other state. Revenue isn’t keeping up with costs.
Posted inKansas City
In Kansas City’s health care sector, 2025 was a nightmare. It may be worse in 2026
Nonprofits turned to private donations to make ends meet after federal funding cuts left major budget gaps. But those dollars won’t be enough.
Posted inHealth
KC’s largest safety-net clinics push back as city takes hard look at health levy
The city is studying which safety-net providers will get funding from the health levy. Longtime recipients argue they can’t afford to lose their shares.
Posted inHealth
Health insurance slipping out of reach for people across Kansas City as ACA subsidies expire
Enhanced tax subsidies, which helped double enrollment in the Affordable Care Act marketplace, will expire on Dec. 31, leaving people across Missouri and Kansas with the choice to pay more or drop coverage.
Posted inHealth
A KU researcher on the brink of a breakthrough is stuck waiting for federal funds
A change in how the federal government funds research means fewer projects are moving forward. Scientists said the result will be fewer medical advances.
Posted inHealth
Months after hackers broke into Cerner’s network, some patients don’t know their health data was stolen
Patients of NKC Health in North Kansas City finally learned in late November — 11 months after the attack — that their data was compromised in ‘one of the most massive breaches in the health care industry.’
Posted inHealth
A healthy prescription many people can’t afford: Eating more fruits and vegetables
Kansas City health providers are turning to ‘food is medicine’ programs that give patients with chronic health conditions fresh food along with nutrition education.