Rural Missourians rely more on Medicaid but are still more likely to be uninsured than urban Missourians, as lack of employer coverage and access barriers take hold across the state.
health
Posted inHealth
Thousands could lose their Medicaid in Kansas City, health leaders are calling for action
They fear people will be kicked off coverage next year when a federal law requiring work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks kicks in.
Posted inHealth
‘Forever chemicals’ surge past federal limits in some Missouri water systems
New EPA data show contamination across the state. But removing the forever chemicals could cost millions and take years.
Posted inHealth
In Missouri and Kansas, NIH research grants slipped in 2025
Despite delays and cancellations, National Institutes of Health grants poured more than $1 billion into the two states last year. But the total number of grants funded declined by more than 8%.
Posted inHealth
Activities, meals and resources: A guide to Kansas City-area senior centers
The average life expectancy in Missouri is 75.1 years and 17% of Kansas nursing home residents are classified as low-care. Here’s a guide to senior centers for disabled and elderly people in the Kansas City metro.
Posted inBehind the Beacon
A seat at the table: How primary care shortages are affecting Missouri’s communities
Physician supply lags behind patient demand nationally and across Missouri. On April 17, The Beacon spoke virtually with McKenzie Richards, a health care policy fellow from Cicero Institute and Michael Wacker, Senior Associate Dean and Director of the UMKC School of Medicine Regional Medical Campus in St. Joseph, Missouri, about the data, challenges and possible […]
Posted inState Government
It is illegal to try certain experimental medications in Kansas. Terminally ill Kansans might soon have options.
New medicines are being developed for individual treatments based on someone’s DNA. Those would be allowed under a proposed bill.
Posted inWichita
COVID vaccines have arrived in Wichita. Here’s what else you need to stay healthy
Sedgwick County is coming off a summer COVID wave as it heads into cold and flu season. Health officials hope that surge prompts far more people to sign up for the new COVID vaccine, which is recommended annually for people 6 months and older. Last year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported […]
Posted inHealth, Kansas State Government
Kansas judge blocks 24-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions
A Kansas judge has temporarily blocked several of the state’s longstanding abortion restrictions, including a 24-hour waiting period that providers say has resulted in hundreds of women being denied abortions. In an order released Monday, Johnson County District Judge K. Christopher Jayaram wrote that the restrictions “(appear) to be a thinly-veiled effort to stigmatize the […]
Posted inEnvironment, Health
Air quality warnings have spiked in Kansas City. Here’s what it means for our health
At KC CARE Health Centers, more people of all ages have been coming in lately with symptoms associated with seasonal allergies — uncharacteristic for this time of year — and worsening symptoms of asthma. Sarah Dashwood, a physician with the center, said this concerning uptick has occurred within the last couple of weeks. The increase […]